The Devils Name is Arkham: Part 2
by Dresner1817
Summary: Arkham City, A place where honest men die along side the lost and damned. In the days leading, during, and after the events of Arkham City, Harley Quinn and Batman must come to terms with not only the Joker's inevitable death but with themselves as the world around them collapses, as does the mysterious Hans. (Based off of game, Comic, and DLC) Harley Quinn x Batman- Ch16 has lemon
1. Prologue

_**Hello everyone! Dresner here again with the Prologue for The Devils Name is Arkham: Part 2! I'm very happy with the turn out for Part 1 and now I bring you with Part 2. Now this Prologue won't have Harley x Batman just yet as that will be in the coming chapters. So just sit back and Enjoy! **_

_**Their will be some revamping of this starting in the next couple of days, Sorry if I haven't updated I've had some losses in the family and it's getting to me...**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Wonder Tower, Arkham City-**_

"You know how this is going to end Batman..." Hans told Batman as they circled one another in the control room of Wonder Tower as the body of Ra's Al Ghul laid motionless in a puddle of blood with a sword through his chest and a gun shot wound to the forehead. The Tower was ransacked, blood covered the walls as well a gun shots, papers laying scattered all over the ground, and the bodies of dead TYGER mercenaries littered the floor along with their shell casings.

"I don't have time for this Hans..." Batman growled as he tighten his fists as the fire crackled in the boules of the war torn Tower.

"Either do I, but I can not prevent the inevitable and neither can you. No matter how hard you try you can't escape the hands of fate or Human Nature." Hans replied coldly as he removed his gun belt and threw it across the room. "It's all happen for a reason, everything has a reason to it, nothing in this world happens without a reason behind it. This night has only one reason behind it, to exterminate us from the face of the earth. Not just you or or the Joker, but all of us here in Arkham city."

Hans pointed to the blood soaked body of the Hugo Strange in his brain matter and blood soaked Arkham City coat. "This man is the root cause of it all and look what the hand of fate has done to him and his benefactor. The hand of fate is stronger than you will ever possibly believe in your or my life time. Since the sun fell on Arkham city, the clock began ticking until this moment was achieved. But it is not over, my dear Dark Knight, it is not over..."

"Protocol 10 is finished Hans," Batman growled as he removed his cape and gloves. "Strange and Ra's are dead, Cobblepot is locked away, and the only thing left is to stop the Joker. Now get out of my way before this gets even more out of hand than it already is."

Hans removed his light weight Kampfküriss Typ 303 Ausf.Z "Deathshead" Exoskeleton revealing a robust and athletic body covered in Germanic and Nordic tattoo's of Viking's, sacred runes, and a large Iron cross on his neck. He took off his black panzer cap and balaclava to reveal a handsome brown haired Teuton with war torn green eyes and a thick Goat-T, Leaving only his Hobnailed Jackboots and black panzer trousers with suspenders handing from his sides.

"No Batman, this is only the beginning." Hans said as he to tighten his fists. "The war for Arkham city will expand until it evolves into the Battle for Gotham City. This war is a wake up call! This war will bring us back to where we belong! This war will provide us with a reason for our existence. You know just as well as I do that when the Joker dies then that will leave you without a reason to exist, It's a profound truth."

"I exist to protect the people of Gotham. That is the reason why I am here on this earth." Batman replied coldly, affirming his purpose as Gotham's savior.

"Protect them from what? The Joker? Two-Face? Bane? Black Mask? The same people who you beat to a pulp, haul them to jail, and for what? For them to be released the next day?" Hans replied with conviction. "You only give them the fire to live, your their Heroin, their purpose to exist outside of fast cash and blood lust. This is coming from a man from a generation who knew HOW to DEAL with their criminals, who knew how to deal with thugs who breed fast and carry switch blades. Cleaning up this town isn't as easy as throwing a few batarangs and throwing a few thugs in jail. No my friend, the only way to save this city is to cut the chaff from the wheat, to thin the heard, to let the field lay ripe with the blood of wicked..."

"Your no better then the men you kill Hans..."

"And your no better than me, Bruce... Or your Harlequin."


	2. Chapter 1: Cry Havoc

_**Alright folks! A new story for everyone to enjoy! Now I must tell you that Part 2 will take place between the Arkham City comics, 1-5, The Arkham City game, and Harley Quinn's revenge. Possible during Arkham Unhinged but that's just how far I can push the Batman and Harley Quinn parting. Right now we are at the Prequel to the game. **_

_**I'm also using Hans and Diesel from the end of Part 1 along with the 9th Company Mercenaries. Now this will be like the last and follow with Harley's side of the story as well as the Merc's own story. It brings a two sides to this story and makes it more interesting.**_

_**Thank you all for reading Part 1 and now here's Part 2!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Flashback-**_

_**Three weeks before the opening of Arkham City-**_

Harley sat in her cell for yet another night laying her head against the concrete wall listing to the sound of the Joker's howling laughter as it echoed throughout Arkham Asylum. His laugh was legendary for being the finally thing his victims hear if their lucky enough to die by his hands, but the survivors of the Joker's horrors always wake up screaming to the sounds of his laughter even after it passes. It's something that stays with you even after you manage to escape him.

But it was this sound that Harley manged to get use to over the years, it even helped her sleep at night knowing that he was near by. It was the only thing that ever preoccupied her thoughts anymore after what Jean-Baptiste Astor, A French Paramilitary contractor from the 9th Company, told her about the ever worsening condition of her Puddin. She always worried about that clown or at least Harley did, while Harleen, her more sane and anti-Joker side, could careless. What Harleen cared about the most was Batman and the ever lasting shame she felt for telling Batman that she, or rather Harley, would rather take care of the Joker instead of giving up her persona of Harley Quinn to become Harleen Quinnzel again.

The end to her nightmare life as Harley Quinn was only in arms reach...

Yet she threw it all away just like she did six years ago in Blackgate prison. She was angry, full of pint up rage at her failure to control herself, angry that she dashed everything good going for her for a clown, angry that she can't save him from the inevitable...

But what pissed her off the most also made her the most ashamed, Leaving Batman for the Joker...

"You know you would save him too..." She whispered to herself.

"_He might or might not. I know I wouldn't, not after everything he's done to us." _Harleen snorted, _"I mean look at us! We're in a fucking 5x5 concrete cell in prison orange! If you didn't say a damn thing we would be back at..."_

_"_I don't care," Harley interjected as she looked at her orange shirt and short shorts that made her prison garbs. "I would rather be here with my joker than anywhere else."

_"What about Batman?"_ Harleen asked her in a dreamy voice.

"Maybe if he was here with me if I got to see Mister J..."

_"Ugh aaaahhhh! God damn it Harley! You really fucked us over this time!"_ Harleen shouted in a rage. _"If you just went with me we would have been fine! Now we're about to be shipped to fucking Arkham City and now Joker's gonna die! Fucking great! Just Fucking GREAT!"_

But her rantings were in vain as Harley complete ignored her and continued to live in her fantasy world of marrying the Joker and the possibility, if Joker didn't kill him, of having the Dark Knight as the best man. Harley did love the big bad bat in her own way, but it was Harleen who dreamed every night of being back with him or Bruce Wayne. Even through the differences between Harley and Harleen were great, they both were always dreaming of something. After all she was a Pisces girl and no matter how to the point Harleen can be both Harley and her minds will always be in the clouds about someone or something.

"I miss you so much!" She said to herself as she listened to the Joker's laughter. "They've kept us apart forever! But as long as I can hear you laugh I know your alright..."

_"Do you even regret turning your back on bats for this?" _Harleen asked her other half to change the subject.

"A little..." Harley said regrettably as the voices of the guards outside of her door caught her attention.

"Joker's laughin' now. But everyone knows he's done for." One said which put Harley on edge. "True dat. Any day now, Bye Bye, Clown."

"No..." Harley gasped as she leaped to pear through her meal slit of her heavy iron door. Three guards stood in a circle around each other cutting up and talking about the Joker, The new Tyger guards with midnight black uniforms with big 'T's on the back and carrying the latest SCAR series combat rifles.

"Course' some of the guys may see that he-" Gun fire from suppressed rifles cut two of the guards down with in seconds while the other was was shoved against a wall by a man who quickly slit the throat of the guard without hesitation. Harley jumped back from the door with a squeal which caught the attention of the figure outside who responded in a foreign tongue but soon switched to English as a knock on the door came.

"Harley, It's me. Astor!" The man said in a thick French accent as he open the door to her cell. Harley jumped to her feet and looked back at the guards behind the blue jumpsuit clad Frenchmen.

"Boy Froggy! You did a numba on those bozos!" Harley said in surprise in her full Brooklyn accent.

Jean-Baptiste 'Froggy' Astor, Former GIGN officer and field medic, was a new friend and personal doctor to Harley Quinn who more than often helped Harley with her insanity. A quiet and polite man by nature with a thick blonde Goat-T that matched his thick blonde hair. A blue jumpsuit with a black Combat vest with the name 'GIGN' on his back reminded him, and everyone around him, of his status as a Police man, A white armband with a red cross on his left and right arms, Black beanie, combat boots, and police style combat belt made his uniform, one of the only uniforms that Harley actual liked to see everyone in awhile. A Bizon Submachine gun was clutched firmly in his hands with a suppressor at the end made his presence a little unsettling, but it wasn't the first time a man with a gun came up to Harley for any reason. This just happen to be the first time a man with a gun came to actually help her!

"It was not me, but Hans here." Astor told her as he lead her out into the blood spattered hallway to see a tall brown haired man clutching a Russian made AN-94 with Holographic sight and GP-30 grenade launcher. The man wore a light green army style jacket, Blue jeans with knee pads, combat boots, Olive drab combat loading, two holsters, one on his chest and another on his hip with A Mauser C-96 and a Glock 17, a black and red shamag scarf covering his face, and a Black M-43 Panzer cap with Deathshead skull. Next to him was a bulkier figure in heavy full body armor and full face combat helmet looking more like a riot guard or a juggernaut with a PKP LMG over his shoulder and ammunition belts draped over his shoulder.

"So your the infamous Harley Quinn?" Hans said with a impressed tone as he handed her the Glock 17 from his chest holster. "Call me Hans and the big guy with the Pecheneg is Diesel."

A loud and dignified cough came from behind the hulking Diesel as a young blonde of about 20 or 22 in a white hoodie with rabbit ears, Tan Combat loading, Blue jeans, combat boots, and clutching a AS-Val suppressed rifle stepped out in front of him. "Your forgetting me again Hans." She said with almost a annoyed and sisterly tone.

"_Ja Ja." _Hans said in German, "This is Erika, Keep the names to a bare minimum and we'll get through this with out an issue. _Verstanden?"_

Harley looked at the strange man with a confused glare until Erika translated for her, "He's asking if you understand."

Harley nodded but was still confused on why these guys were here. Where they hear for her? "What's going on Froggy?" She asked Astor, to which Erika answered.

"We, meaning my two brothers, The 9th Company, and myself are here to get you and the Joker to Arkham City before the other's are transported there in the morning." Erika told her confidently, which reassured her on the Joker's feelings of her.

"Ha! I knew he couldn't live without me!" Harley thought to herself with glee much to Harleen's dismay.

"YAY!" Harley jumped into the air happily. "We're gonna rescue my puddin! We're gonna rescue my puddin!" She chanted over and over again as she skipped down the hall as she followed the sound of Joker's laughter.

Erika, Hans, and Diesel looked Astor in confusion to which the Frenchman replied with, "This is just her normal self, Just wait for the crazy side."

The squad of five made their way through the halls of Arkham once more. This place still showed the scars of the last attack on Arkham last year and the Suicide Squad's assault on the facility two years before. Bullet holes, grenade fragments, green stained walls from Joker toxin, evil smiley faces faded into the concrete, and the thick smell of blood and Poison Ivy's rotting TITAN induced plants filled the air, Even after six months the Joker's take over!

But that didn't surprise Astor, not one bit, nor did it surprise the German mercenaries attached to his company. For him his main objective was to aid in the transportation of HVI, High Value Individuals, to the newly Arkham City Mega Prison (Formally known as North Gotham). But Astor only worked with the Joker on his transportation to Arkham City due to his close ties with Harley Quinn after the last few months as well as a promise of a hefty pay check for his hand in breaking the Joker out of the Asylum and get him to Arkham city FIRST before his enemies get their first. For the sibling team of Erika, Diesel, and Hans the sight of neglect in Asylum wasn't shocking. All forms of funding had gone toward the building of Arkham City's titanic bremer walls, Sentry towers, high tech security systems, and paying the vast private army of the TYGER Corporation. The mass amounts of funding put into the security measures left close to nothing for the reaming members of Arkham's security staff who awaited transfer to Arkham city.

But this didn't surprise them neither, as they too saw the conditions of Arkham city first hand...

They came through the cell block, firing on anyone and everyone who stood in their way as Diesel brought up the rear with his heavy machine gun. Hans, Harley, and Erika took the lead as the followed the sound of Joker's laughter through the penitentiary until coming to the source of the laughter, The medical labs.

Erika, Hans, and Astor stacked up by the door with Diesel at the ready to breech the door. "On three, One, Two-" Hans whispered until Harley Quinn kicked down the door and emptied her gun into the three vengeful guards before they could attack the Joker in retribution for the murder of their friends and comrades during the Arkham Take over one year ago.

"Hiya puddin!" Harley shouted with glee as she saw the wheel chair bound Joker for the first time in months since his incarceration in extreme isolation. She jumped into his lap, rapped her arms around him, and smooched him repeatedly until he shouted to Hans to get her off of him.

"Finally you show up!" Joker shouted with a chuckle at the three German's and the Frenchman with Harley at his side.

"What's the fun with out some suspense, eh?" Diesel asked him as he stood in the hallway scanning for enemies.

"No time for jokes," Hans interjected. "We only got a few minutes before the guards know whats up and the bat comes. So we better shake it out!"

"Their is always time for Jokes Fritz! Always time for a good knee slapper!" The Joker howled with laughter until he began coughing uncontrollably to which Harley ran to a med kit to retrieve medication for her 'Puddin'.

"That's why your da boss Mista J!" Harley laughed as if nothing was wrong as she feed her dying 'Boyfriend' his meds.

Hans and Erika rolled their eyes as they left for the door while Astor stayed with Harley and Joker. "Clear the way, I'll stay them!" Astor told them to which Hans made a dirty remark in German about the French, much to Erika's annoyance.

The pinging and thud of bullets hitting Diesel's armor and the steel walls caught their attentions, "You think that can stop ME?!" Diesel shouted in English with a hint of a southern accent as he unloaded a long burst from his Pecheneg at near by TYGER and Arkham guards. "FUCKERS!" He roared as he lurched forward in his heavy black juggernaut suit firing wildly with his machine gun as he cleared the way out of the ward. Bullets only bounced off or caught in his armor to much of the guard dismay as the Goliath of armor and lead that was Diesel.

"AHAHA! HAHAHA! DIE LIKE MEN YOU PIGS! BWAHHAHAHA!" Diesel laughed as he reached the Open cell block with Erika and Hans close behind as they followed the ocean of empty brass casings.

"He's enjoying himself to much again!" Erika whined as her and Hans took to the flanks of their psychotic brother, firing on to the cat walks until each guard was nothing but paste. The three cleared the block with Harley and Astor escorting the Joker as the Heavy squad cleared the way.

"SHUT THE DOOR!" One guard yelled before a hail of bullets turned him in mince meat. An alarm sounded and the security door slowly began to close on them from the far side of the cell block.

"SO AM I!" Hans yelled with a snicker as he fired a 40mm grenade from his GP-30, destroying the motor and blowing a piece of the door off. "_Macht schnell! _To the Boat dock!" Hans shouted to Harley and Astor as they rushed forward with the Joker as he howled madly at the joyous display of destruction caused by the mercenaries he hired. Even as bullets rushed past his head, blood raining upon him from the catwalks, and death knocking at his door the Joker couldn't help but think how beautiful everything was coming together for him. He knew he hired the right men, especially since they came with a recommendation from Hugo Strange himself with a psychological evaluation to boot!

The Brothers, Hans and Diesel, were looking for a death wish at the fairest of prices. Ministers of death praying for war, Soulless killing machines without rhyme or reason to live, and stone cold killers who want nothing more than to fight for the sake of fighting.

And a sense of humor! Perfect for his crew!

Harley was over taken by Astor as they exited the ward to the open and still plant infested expanse of Arkham Island. A boat dock with two or three supply boats sat tied to the doctor with four dead TYGER guards scattered across the docks. "Allen and Sean are awaiting in a Patrol boat in the Gotham River to escort us to Arkham City. The question is where to?" Astor asked the Joker as he cut the restraints off of the Joker.

"Oh what a surprise!" The Joker said gleefully as he felt the blood rushed back to his pasty hands, ignoring his question completely. "They're more of you!"

The Germans took the lead once more for the docks without interruption from the guards or anyone. As they stormed down the stairs Hans couldn't shake the feeling of dread in his cold heart at what was on the horizon. He always the one who thought a few steps ahead of his siblings, or at least his slow brother who's only train of thought was that of a Hammer. His sister was very intelligent, rather 'book smart' than combat and life smart like him. His time on the Eastern front, a Biker gang leader, and a Mercenary taught him one thing about silence on a battlefield, especially on a Island like this...

Keep your guard up even after the guns fall silent...

"Heads on a swivel..." Hans whispered as he began to scan around him with his rifle. Diesel did the same but Erika was confused, "What does that mean?" She asked innocently.

"_Verdammt Rookies..." _Hans said under his breath much to Diesel amusement, to which she slapped him behind the head.

"Fuck you Hans..." She hissed as Hans chuckled.

"It mean's keep a look out." Diesel told her.

"Holy fuck boys, even Diesel knew that one!" Hans taunted his sister as rushed off the flight of stairs. "How long did you go to Faulkner University for Erika? Three? Four years? How many master's degrees with honors? Damn Sis, All that for nothing eh?"

"Four and four masters, but your forgetting-"

"Not forgetting, just not giving a fuck." Hans interjected rudely as they reach the docks as the sound of their combat boots thumbing against the old oak wood docks.

Erika snarls at her brother's laughter, but she couldn't hold it against him or his Older brother, Diesel, aggression. Not after what happen to him in North Korea, or what happen to them in Metropolis five years ago. The three were always a little passive aggressive to each other, it was in their nature to pick at one another. But they always laughed at it or at each other. They only did it because they were family and they did it because they cared about each other, and the only way they knew how to ease the pain of losing loved ones.

"Load _Le Clown _on board first and take the other boat to _rendezvous _with the Irishman and the Afrikaner!" Astor ordered to the others as he began prepping the supply boat for the get away to Arkham City.

_"Jawohl!" _The three confirmed as Hans and Diesel loaded the Joker into the boat while Erika leaped into the adjacent craft and prepped it for launch. It wasn't long before the Joker's escape boat was ready and soon they along with his saviors escaped into the night of Gotham bay.

The Joker only smiled to himself as he saw the look of joy in Harley's face as she sat by him as the Frenchman piloted the boat under the watchful eyes of the German mercenaries in the opposing boat. He was slightly relieved that Harley came to his aid, but it was expected of her and he came to realize that. The presence of Harley Quinn was just as frequent as his old friend and enemy Batman. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of her she always came crawling back to him, which suited him since he needed her for his plans, especially this one. Months of planning had gone into his latest, possibly last, scheme for Gotham and the Dark Knight.

Through the dark night sky he could see dark clouds hovering above a star lite sky with the full moon. The light of the moon reflected off the water just right that it just set the mood perfectly for any couple looking for a romantic night on the town, a moment that Harley Quinn took to plant a kiss on Mister J's lips.

"Damn it Harley! Can't you see I'm having a me moment!" The Joker snapped, "I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful winters night and-" A heavy cough broke his train of thought to which Harley took advantage of to make up for what she thought she did wrong.

"I'm sorry Puddin..." She said in a defeated tone as she gave him some more medicine.

_"Why are you apologizing to him?" _Harleen asked her. "_He's doing it AGAIN and WE'RE going through it ONCE AGAIN! I know your rethinking your fuck up and I'm glad you are, because you know what? You fucked up again!"_

Harley ignored Harleen and the Joker's mistreatment once again. She didn't care what he or she had to say about her or her Joker as she rapped her hands around his as the boat jumped from wave to wave at break neck speeds.

"Kilo Two this is Kilo Zero, Do you copy? Over." Astor called into the radio to Allen 'Reggie' Vorster and Sean 'Magic' Disney in the Patrol Boat as they reached the middle of Gotham Bat.

"Roger! Kilo Two reporting. Over." Allen responded.

"Excellent, We are approaching your position. Keep your Browning's on a swivel for anyone or anything trying to stop us." Astor responded.

"Roger Roger, We see you with Kilo one. Coming your way, Kilo Two out."

From the pilot house Astor could see the white guiding light of the Vietnam era PBR, Patrol boat River, coming closer and closer to them to act as armed escort toward Arkham City. The PBR packed two Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns at the front and three M-60 machine guns spread on the sides and rear of the fighting compartment. The addition of a platform in between the pilot house and duel browning's at the front gave the expert sniper that was Sean Diseny a even platform to take shots at long range with his brand new Barrett M95 .50 caliber sniper rifle, The very weapon his IRA buddies used again the British in North Ireland and for killing the TYGER guards on the docks.

The three boats seemed to have escaped without hassle, water wise, and seemed to be in the clear...

"INCOMING!" Diesel shouted as the sound of jet engines screamed over head, followed by the sight of a black vulture or bat shaped aircraft strafed the boats. Blooms of orange lights in the sky descended upon them and crashed into the water sending jets of sea water into the sky like a geyser. Sean began to fire the twin 50's at the sight of the orange and red rear engine ports of the plane as it danced across the night sky. Tracers flew through the sky like lightening bugs as Sean tried to lead the plane on for the kill. Diesel and Hans began firing their weapons into the air at the plane as well to give the pilot more of a challenge.

"The bugger is to fast for me!" Sean shouted into his ear piece as he tried to get a bead on plane as it lined up to fire another volley of rockets at the escaping boats.

"Kilo 2! This is Hans! Pull along the side of Kilo 1 and let me and my brother aboard! We need those M-60's!" Hans shouted into his ear piece to Allen and Sean.

"Roger!" Allen replied as he steered his boat toward Kilo 2 dodging another Volley of missiles from the vulture like aircraft above.

The two boats drew closer and closer to one another until they were side by side, only separated by a foot of freezing sea water and hypothermia. "Strip off that armor or your sinking like a stone Diesel!" Hans shouted as he sprinted across the small deck and into the PBR.

"Wait up!" Erika yelled as she locked the throttle of the boat and leaped from the Pilots hatch to the PBR.

Diesel fired the last of his ammo belt into the sky before stripping off his juggernaut suit to a lighter battle dress of tan BDU pants and a black tight fitting T-Shirt that showed off his Tattooed and muscular arms. He threw his MG on his back and sprinted over the top of the hull toward the PBR, nearing falling over the side and to because by his brother who pulled him up quickly into the boat. Water splashed on Diesel sending a shock wave throughout his body just before he feel onto the floor of the fighting compartment.

"FUCK THE WINTER!" Diesel shouted as his brother picked him up from the ground and handed him one of the M-60's as Erika began firing her's at the plane.

"No time to bitch about the weather! Get that fucker out of the sky!" Hans shouted as he demount the other M-60 and began firing into the night at the plane as it came for another pass. The combined fire made the pilot take ever more drastic maneuvers to avoid the whirlwind of fire from the PBR. But this pilot stayed calm and made every decision with the utmost care without hesitation. He fired another volley, destroying the abandon supply boat and barley scraping the PBR and the Joker's Boat.

"Fuck that was close!" Erika yelled as she loaded a fresh belt into the M-60 as snow began to fall from the sky.

"I can see the Shipyards from here! ETA ten minutes!" Astor reported over the radio as the lights of the Sionis Steel Mill and New Gotham appeared over the horizon of the titanic sized bremer walls.

"Arkham City here I come!" The Joker shouted with mad laughter as he could just smell the scent of molten steel that was Arkham city just across the bay.

"Where is he?!" Hans shouted as he searched for the strange aircraft stalking them from above.

"I don't hear'em!" Harley shouted as she looked for it in the sky.

"That had to be him... It has to be..." Harley thought to herself as she remembered catching glimpses of the strange aircraft. "But why would he be-"

The supply boat and the PBR were thrown into the air into fire balls as missiles struck the hulls of the boats, Totaling them instantly. The explosion tossed Harley and Joker into the icey waters a few feet away from Astor as he was tossed in the other direction. Hans, Erika, Diesel, Sean, and Allen were tossed from their craft as well, but were separated from one another and no where to be found...

The plane soon hovered over the destruction to inspect the damage done. From what he could see the oil and marine fuel caught fire from the explosion and formed a circle of death for anyone who survived plunging into the frigged waters of the Gotham bay. He searched around for a good five minutes before departing back into Gotham with a heavy heart, but even he knew that the Joker would live through this attack. The Joker always lived through it...

This man should know, He fought the Joker for over six years now... He was the Dark Knight.

He is Batman...

* * *

_**Two Hours Later, Arkham/Old Gotham Sewer System.**_

Harley dragged the Joker up into the sewer pipe along with Astor while Hans dragged his unconscious brother and sister with them. The Harlequin and the German fought bitterly to stay alive after the explosions caused them to take a dip in Gotham bay. The two were tough, very tough, and not even a little sea water could stop these two from saving the ones they care for.

The thud of helicopter blades outside caught the veteran fighter Hans for surprise as he saw a large Mi-8 Hip transport chopper flying over the wreckage with a safety later hanging from the cargo bay. Two figures were climbing up the later, Sean and Allen, which gave well needed relief to the life long solider. He took a seat near his brother and sister as they shivered and shaken from the freezing waters and the cold winds of a new Gotham winter. It seemed to get colder and colder every year in Gotham, something that all residents started to notice after awhile. For Hans it was a welcoming present, the winter was his favorite time of year. Good things came to him in winter and he hoped that this winter would bring him hope for a new year.

Harley looked over her shoulder to see the lead German, Hans, helping his brother and sister to their feet. He was cold, but even the freezing waters of Gotham Bay didn't seem to phase him, or that he was almost blown up by the Batman!

"Your tough Hans!" Harley said with a snicker. "The last goons Mister J hired would have shit their pants if the Bat tried to blown them up!"

"Just another day Harley..." Hans said as he picked up Astor from the freezing sewer floor. "I won't die unless I want to..."

"Crazy and Dedicated!" The Joker exclaimed with a heavy cough. "Welcome to Arkham!"

Hans gave a heavy laugh at the Joker's statement, "Oh you don't know the half of it bud." Hans chuckled as he cut Astor's water logged Bizon from his rigging with a combat dagger. He open the bolt and removed the magazine to drain out the water in the barrel. A smirk came across his face as the bolt shut closed without trouble, "Damn reds know how to make a gun." He said to himself as rapped his hands firmly around the pistol grip of the Russian made Sub-machine gun.

"Come, We don't have much time." Hans told them as he threw Astor over his shoulders and lead the way. Diesel and Erika came on foot with Harley bringing up the rear while carrying the Joker.

A few moments past and soon it was our of the darkness of the sewers and up an endless latter toward the surface. Where on the surface was the question of the day, or night, or whatever time it is up there on the surface.

Harley followed behind the larger brother, Diesel, a sight she wish she could avoid utterly and completely. His sister was a little privileged, but caring regardless of how many degrees and master she had. But the middle brother, this 'Hans', seemed rather familiar to her. He carried himself rather differently, almost like Batman in a way, but with guns and hand grenades rather than batarangs. But their was something more to 'Hans', more to 'Erika', and to 'Diesel'. These three seemed all to familiar to Harley...

But that didn't matter to her, They were only the hired help, expendable hands for the Joker's plans. But they were going to get a good check for this one!

"Hans! Are we nearing the surface?" Erika called out to her brother.

A bright shining sun broke through the darkness of the man hole tunnel. "Does that answer your question?" Hans replied as he climbed onto the snow covered surface above. He threw himself and Astor into the snow, wallowing in the beauty of the fresh snow and the cold air of the surface.

"Still alive..." He whispered to himself as he rolled on to his back as the sun broke over the Bremer walls of Arkham city, "Still Alive..."

Erika and Diesel stood appeared over him smirking at their middle brother as he whispered to himself "Still alive." over and over again with a slight smile concealed under the wet shamag. Erika removed the wet cloth from his face to reveal a worn face with a Goat-T. Her Brother Hans took heavily off of their deceased father, Theodore. Green eyes that send fear and thanks down your spin when he looked at you, Thick brown hair with a mind of its own, a heart strong enough to power a city, and a skull thick enough to stop a bullet.

"Ja Ja, Still alive Still alive." His brother mocked him as the two siblings helped him to his feet. "You ever gonna stop saying that when shit like this goes right?"

"Never..." He said with a weak chuckle as he stumbled to his feet, his body covered in snow and sewage.

Astor awoke some moments later with a throbbing headache as he too came to his feet. "_Où diable sommes-nous? (Where the hell are we?)" _

"Arkham city." Harley responds as the Joker proclaimed himself and Harley the mayor and mayoress of Arkham City.


	3. Chapter 2: Pick your Posion

_**Alright everyone! He's another great chapter with some Harley and Batman love along with some other bits. Now the last chapter and this one takes place in the Arkham comics and soon I will be in the Arkham Game soon. I recommend picking up the comics if you want a little more detail on the Arkham city story line before, during, and after HQR.**_

_**Over all please Enjoy and please review! Oh and Thank you all for the 100 views for Part 2 and the 600 for Part 1 this month alone!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Seven months after the Opening of Arkham City, 'Joker's fun house'/Sionis Steel Mill, 8 days before the End-**__**  
**_

"Whoa Cowboy," The cheerful voice of Harley Quinn said as she held a Glock to the large thug that was 'Lester Kurtz' as he finished beating up on her goons from his first test. "That's enough."

Lester Kurtz, career criminal and new inmate of Arkham City, rose his chest to meet the gun toting Harley Quinn as the sickly, yet joyful, Joker rolled over to him in a clown themed electric wheel chair. Kurtz was a hulk of a man with a long thick beard mustache comb with biker attire, a figure that was more of a match for any of the thugs and punks in Arkham City. Even with a loaded gun pointed at his face he did not shutter or fret, a trait that Harley, or rather Harleen, noticed right away and put Harley on guard immediately.

"_That's him alright..."_ Harleen warned Harley. "_Look in his eyes... Look how he carries himself... The way he moved on those goons..."_

In the last few months the bubbly Harley began to take a more militant and aggressive side as she took on more responsibilities in the Joker's operations. Her new outfit reflected this change in attitude. A fire proof leather garter and pants in her traditional black and red colors with four diamonds on each leg, Over knee high leather boots, elbow high gloves, and a choker, All black and red of course. She put on white face paint and added black eye liner and red lipstick as well as dying the ends of her blonde pig tails black and red to match her whole outfit, yet still be practical in the end. The more hardcore Harley began to listen to Harleen a little more than usual, especially since the Joker was dying and trying to replace her with a puppet named Scarface.

"You might be right," Harley thought as she pulled out her PDA as the name 'Lester Kurtz' came into the conversation between the man and Joker. "Looks like you might be wrong."

"Thirty Nine years old, Has done time for armed robbery, aggravated assault, and grand theft auto." Harley reported in a no nonsense and scrutinizing tone as she did a background check. "Also interned briefly at Arkham Asylum two years ago."

_"Remember Harley," _Harleen nagged her. "_Batman has tricks up his sleeve, but so do we..."_

"Strange. I don't remember you at any of the glee club rehearsals." The Joker remarked with a slight smirk on his face.

"_Watch how your Puddin's eyes act around this guy... Do you remember seeing them when he's around Batman?" _Harleen told her. "_Or should I say when he's around Scarface?"__  
_

Harley's hand became a death grip on her PDA, almost cracking the screen in a rage at the mire mentioning of that puppets name. Ever since she and the mercenaries rescued him from Arkham months ago, he had a goon named Mugsy bring back an old 'Friend' of his. His friend being the former puppet of the ventriloquist, Scarface. Believe it or not, The two have been competing for the Joker's attention since he escaped from Arkham!

To much of Harleen's dismay, she really and truly pitied the Joker and Harley position at this point. Harley was having to take on all the Joker's power for him while he withered away. But it infuriated her to see that instead of thanking Harley for all the work she's done, he goes on to make her jealous with a piece of wood! A fucking piece of wood! She managed to destroy the original Scarface by throwing him in a furnace, but the Joker had another made just right afterward. The look in the clown's dying eyes was that of a glee filled child when they see their friends coming to play with him. It was the same look he gave when he saw Batman and the same look he gave to that piece of ceder.

The two chatted until Harley was told to give this 'Lester Kurtz' a mask as his award for joining the Joker's gang. She looked over to one of the unconscious thugs and preceded to take his mask off of his face to give to 'Lester', "You'll get payed after each job, an equal share divided among all the survivors. If your one of them. Take it or leave it." She said with a sly tone to 'Lester' who caught the mask one handed.

"I'm in." Lester said, winking at the Harlequin as the Joker let out his hand.

"Put her their old man!" Joker said.

Lester noticed a thug getting up from the beating he gave him and snatched the thugs hand before the high voltage buzzer in the Joker's palm caught him. The Joker let out an impressed chuckle before ordering Harley to escort him to the loft to await further orders.

"We'll have to keep an eye on this one!" He told the goons as they picked one another up off the floor.

Three thugs stood near the door to accompany Harley as she escorted Lester to his quarters, but she refused their help and chose to escort him alone. They tired to protest, but the veteran members of Joker's gang knew that whatever Harley said was final or else you would have to speak to the Joker personally about the troubles of 'Insubordination'.

Lester remained cool and continued on with a suspicious Harley Quinn leading the way. He said nothing and only enjoyed the sight of the blonde beauty that was Harley Quinn as she pranced around in those tight leather pants of hers. What guy wouldn't stare at a piece of ass like Harley Quinn?

Harley could feel the eyes of Lester on her, a strange feeling since she learned to ignore the lustful gaze of the animals the Joker employed in the ranks of his happy hoard. She was on edge and tried to keep her cool as they reached a stair case leading to a collection of lofts where some of the more important, or still living, members of the gang stayed for the night.

"Up here are the sleeping quarters." Harley told him as they walked up the stairs. "If your lucky you might rise up enough to get your own room away from the bozo's and rift raft."

"Luck isn't an issue with me." Lester said coldly as they walked through a door way where a collection of doors to sleeping quarters covered the right side of the wall.

"Oh really bats?" Harley said she threw him into one of the empty sleeping quarters with Hans's Glock drawn at Lester's face. "Say a fucking word and I'll send you back to the batcave in a fucking box!" She said in a dark whisper.

"What are you talking about?" Lester asked her as he tried to keep claim as the angry Harlequin held a gun to his face.

"Bullshit Bats!" Harley scowled. "The Joker only looks at two people with that glare, That puppet Scarface and Bat Brain, and I don't see termite breath anywhere! So spill it before I spill you, got it?

Lester gave a smirk before letting out a slight chuckle, "You smarter than I gave you credit for Harleen."

"It is you..." Harley said in shock, dumbfounded that she was right or rather Harleen was right. "Is this you? The real you? He-He, I expected something more." She asked playfully to Batman as she looked at his Biker style attire.

"No, but I have to blend in with the crowd here in Arkham city." Batman told her.

Harley gave a sigh of relief, "Thank god, I don't wanna Biker guy. I'm getting tired of these thugs..."

"I don't blame you honey." Batman said as he rapped his hand around her free hand. "Especial in this city."

Harley gave a tired grin and tucked her gun into her holster, "How you been Bats? Arkham city a little to much for ya?"

The Dark Knight smirked, something he did a lot when he was around her, "The usual, but a little better since I know your alive."

"Now that I think about it, You almost killed me!" Harley said in an angry tone as she slapped Batman across the face. "That's for almost killing me and Mister J! And..." Her voice shifted tones quickly as did her expression to a more relieved and calm sort as she lunged forward to lock lips with the incognito Batman. The kiss was impulsive and rather strong, catching Batman off guard.

"That's for coming back for me..." She whispered as she broke the kiss and rapped herself around him with a cute sigh.

Batman took a deep breath after the long lip locking and slowly began to accept the embracing Harlequin. He missed his Harlequin, missed her more than anything in his life, and was glad to have her in his arms again. But he had a mission this night...

"Anything for you my dear..." He whispered to her as she laid her head on his chest. "But I have a busy night tonight and I-"

Harley took her head off of his chest and kissed him once more, "I know bats, Don't worry..." She interjected in a defeated tone as she walked to the door. "You wouldn't look that good in a clown mask anyways." She giggled as she open the door, letting him go free without a fight.

"Watch out for the patrolling goons and some of bird brain's boys. Those clowns don't play around with those new pop toys!" Harley warned him as he walked toward the door.

"Thanks Harleen." He says to her as he walked toward the window.

"Bats?" Harley asked him as he pulled a rope from his coat and hooked it to the window.

"Yes?" He replied as he tested the strength of the hook point.

"Why are you here? Ya here for me or my Joker?" She asked innocently.

Batman looks at Harley and gave a hefty sigh, "I can't tell you much. But what I can say is just to check up on an old friend and you."

With those words he scaled down the wall without another word said. Leaving Harley wondering was he telling the truth? Was he here to check on the Joker and her? Or was this another trick?

* * *

_**Iceberg Lounge, Two hours later-**_

Oswald Cobblepot, AKA 'The Penguin', sat in a grand throne at the head of a large dinning table in front of bountiful feast of chicken, turkey, steak, and lobster. A dwarf like man with clad in a suit with a thick fur collar coat and a bottle stuck in his eye from a bar brawl some years ago, Oswald Cobblepot was known as the Penguin after his appearance and his rather bird like appearance. But be warned, under the rather awkward appearance lay the heart of a cold blooded and sadistic killer no better than the clown prince of crime.

Cobblepot took a long sip of wine as the new blood, Lester Kurtz, came into his great dinning hall. His thugs stood around his table with combat shotguns and clubs clad in a mixture of Arkham city jumpsuits, fur collar jackets, old combat webbing, balaclavas or handkerchiefs, and urban winter camouflaged pants. The militia like guards of Penguin's army gave a more organized and serious appearance when compared to the disorganized and laughable appearance of Joker's hoard of psychopathic clowns and sadistic jesters.

"Kurtz is it?" Penguin asks as he takes a bite of freshly cooked lobster tail. "Never heard of you."

"It's not my style to be known." Lester told him as Cobblepot swallowed the shellfish without trouble.

"Not that it matters, Mr. Kurtz. Your big. Strong. I'll take as many men like you as I can get." Cobblepot told Lester as he took another drink of wine. "I not going to put you through any initiation, like that fool Joker. Just follow orders and you will be payed well."

"Now listen close because I will repeat myself..." The Penguin said as he pull a map of Arkham city with the rout of a TYGER Arms shipment.

"Penguin sir!" A wounded and distraught thug with a seeping wound on his shoulder. "Joker's crew has engaged our boys at the shipment! They got snipers! Fucking good ones sir!"

Penguin drew a Sliver plated Mauser C-96 pistol from his coat and shot the man in the heart from across the room. "No one barges into my dinning hall unannounced." The Penguin said ominously as he looked over to Lester. "Let that be a lesson to you Kurtz... Now off with you! Get MY guns away from that CLOWN!"

* * *

_**Near by Hotel, Twenty minutes after the meeting in the Iceberg lounge.**_

Erika peered through a pair of Zeiss binoculars from the 10th floor a derelict hotel near the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. From what she could see was a fire fight between members of the Cobblepot's army of thugs and mercenaries brawling and shooting it out with the Joker's hoard of clown faced murderers and rapists. A heavy armored truck surrounded by dead TYGER guards, shell casings, destroyed vehicles, and the dead and dying members of the rival gangs.

"Oi Blondie, what ya see?" Sean asked her as he gazed through the scope of his lighter GOL .300 magnum sniper rifle through the window next to her. Sean 'Magic' Disney was a former IRA rebel and lead sniper in Coldwater international. Clad in a black ACU jacket and black ACU pants with a Russian fur hat and rabbit lined boots, Sean was ready for the harsh Gotham winter even it was in Arkham City.

"A bunch of freaks wigging out over a few crates of factory grade M16's." Erika said coldly as she pulled the wool torque over her face and letting her shoulder length blonde hair flow down. She wore adark green winter parka lined with rabbits fur, a gift from a VIP she escorted through northern Iran to Turkmenistan over a year ago, simply Blue jeans, Skiing goggles hung around her neck, warm fur lined boots, AKS-74U 'Krinkov' on her back, and side zip winter gloves. "Fuck it's cold..."

The Irishman and Erika were on a recon mission for their commander, Hans, regarding the situation between the Joker and Penguin. After the word came down from Coldwater International about the involvement of the TYGER Corporation in the guarding of Arkham City, Coldwater ordered a full on campaign of Espionage, Assassination, and clandestine operations to sabotage the name of TYGER.

"Need a strong man to keep ya warm Blondie?" Sean chuckled flirtatiously.

"Keep talking and I'll cut off your tongue." Erika said coldly as she spotted their target, "Kurtz is here..."

"Ho-Ho, aren't you the naughty one?" Sean laughed at Erika's threat. "You talking about the big man with the biker motif and the M-67?"

"_Wass?!" _Erika shouted as she gazed over to the sight of a large explosion as the arms truck erupted into a fire ball fueled by gasoline and gun powder. Erika quickly returned to the view of the fireball to see the sight of Lester Kurtz retreating with some of Penguin's thugs back toward the Bowery under pursuit from the Joker's clowns as they raced through the empty streets.

Sean fired on the Joker's men, killing three of them before the roar of UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-6 Little Bird helicopters signaled their time to depart. "Lookie Lookie the kitties have come to play." Sean said as the Black T marked helicopters of TYGER appeared to scare away any scavengers who were dumb enough to come looking for a means to protect themselves.

"Right on time." Erika said as she looked at the TYGER choppers with her binoculars. "TYGER must have upgraded in the last few months. The Little Birds still have the factory coat on them and so do the BlackHawk's. *Deep sniff* The gun oil is fresh too, strong as well."

"That's impossible." Sean said with a gasp as he threw his GOL on his back. "TYGER got a hammering from the U.N for that cock up in Syria two years ago! They we're flat broke after 'The General' whooped their arses side ways! How could they get those whirligigs?!"

"Loans?" Erika asked innocently.

"Fuck all-"

The blinding light of a search light caught their attention as a TYGER Little bird chopper appeared in front of them. The sound of the miniguns spooling up caused Erika to panic and scream "RUN!" At the top of her lungs as the soul shattering sound of the Miniguns opened fire on the building, shredding the walls and windows behind them as the ran toward the stair wells. Rocket's from the wing mounted pods crashed into the buildings tearing large chunks of the hotel into bits and pieces of rubble raining down on the streets killing anyone unlucky enough to cross by.

The thundering sound of helicopter engines echoed through the building as the two merc's ran down the stairs with guns drawn as the dragon like sound of Miniguns destroyed what was left the top floor of the hotel.

"Go! Go! Go! Into the darkness! Stay out of the light or those helo's will rip us apart!" Erika shouted to Sean as they burst through the door on to the snow and blood covered streets of Arkham city, scurrying like rats to escape the TYGER choppers as they tried to salvage the remains of their own shipment.

"You think this is the first time I've had choppers chasing me!?" Sean yelled as they ran through the streets and behind the taller buildings to escape the ever present eyes of TYGER.

Erika only laughed as they ran through the back streets and corridors of Arkham City's Park Row district toward one of the only safe havens in Arkham city, The Corridor.

* * *

_**The Corridor, Park Row, Gotham Cathedral, 45mins later**_

"And their we..."

"Fuck! Damn it!" A political prisoner said as Astor removed a shard of steel from the man's arm.

"You will be fine." Astor told him as he put away his tools in his medical satchel and takes out a bottle of whisky. "Now this will be a little painful, So take a drink. It's Jake Danial's so you American's will enjoy it, it's like water to you no?" He said with a chuckle as he poured the whisky on to his wounds.

"Jack Danial! Jack! Not Jake! Get it right!" Diesel chastised him from a near by table as a nurse removed a bullet from his leg.

"Hold still!" The nurse said harshly as she pulled another bit of buckshot out of his body.

"Yes yes, Jake, Jack, John, Jim, and Jean! All these J's in your damn language." Astor said as he started to mutter to himself in French.

Diesel was wounded earlier that night after a fire fight with Joker's gang in the industrial district while trying to escort a group of Political Prisoners to the Corridor. The Corridor was a small section of Arkham city near the north bound over pass. The small street, The church, a near by shanty town, and a small TYGER storage area made up the Corridor. The creation of the Corridor was made by order of their Commander, Hans, for the protection of the medical center and as a base of operations for his band of contractors.

But Hans saw something in the eyes of the forgotten and forsaken people who were wrongfully imprisoned in this hell hole known as Arkham City...

What he saw was a mystery to everyone in the company, even his own brother and sister were confounded on the matter.

As if on cue, Hans stepped into the room in a thick Italian camouflaged anorak parka over a black cotton button up, Flektarn trousers, combat boots, and a Black M-43 cap with a ruffed up AK-74M on his shoulder. He brushed the snow off of his shoulders as Sean and Erika informed him of the botched raid on the arms truck by the rival gangs.

"What about Kurtz?" Hans asked Erika and Sean.

"He escaped and possibly on the way to the docks for exfiltration as we speak." Erika reported to her brother as she hands him a PDA. "Allen managed to film him at the Docks getting out of a strange watercraft near an abandon cargo ship."

"Grand." Hans replied as he view a video of 'Kurtz' coming and going from an abandon Tugboat. "Where is Allen now?"

"Industrial District looking for a food drop to feed the prison-"

"Their people, Erika" Hans interjected as he turned to face her. "People just like you, Aaron Cash, and to an extent Diesel."

"Hey!" Diesel yelled in a offended tone.

"_Ja Ja_ Diesel, Calm down. Just a Joke." Hans reassured him before taking an intrest in his wounds, sparking a memory. "Oh Diesel, How did it go with the escort mission? Are their more of them?"

_"Ja_, About ten or twenty. Some of them wouldn't stop talking about the horror stories of the Joker's mill and that _Verdammt museum _of his." Diesel replied as the nurse poured rubbing alcohol on his wound.

"So they are safe, Yes?" Hans asked.

"Ja! Ja already! They are fine!" Diesel shouted in annoyance as the nurse patched up his wound. "Why the fuck do you care so much about these cowards? You never gave a rats ass about those POW's in Syria or in the Congo, What's different about these guys?"

Hans expression changed from light relief to lightening hot anger as he stomps over to his brother and slugs him off the table with one good punch. He dives on his brother grabbing him by the collar and pinning him against the ground, "You haven't seen what I've seen... Once you do... Then you will understand..." Hans said in a harsh and ominous whisper before leaping back to his feet.

He brushed himself off and leaded a hand to his brother, "Get up, we've got work to do." Hans told him.

Diesel snorts and picks himself up, "Fuck off sir." He says as he retrieves his Pecheneg and winter coat. He wore tan combat pants and black shirt that showed off his tattooed arms and large muscles. Over the last few months he grew a large beard to keep his face warm and build on his Viking like appearance and attitude.

Erika rolled her eyes, "What's our course of action this night?"

Hans's eye pricked up, "Finally your using some initiative." He said arrogantly. "When Allen returns I want you, the Irishman, Diesel, and him to go to the docks to await Kurtz return. Once he does radio me and I will give you orders from there."

"What about the frenchy?" Sean asked Hans.

"Astor will stay and treat the people of the Corridor. He is a doctor, not a fighter and I believe he agrees with me." Hans told him as he made his way toward the door.

"And you?" Erika asks him as the cold air rushed from the outside and into the cathedral.

"I'm going to make a visit to an old friend..." Hans said as he walked into the chaos of Arkham City once more.


	4. Chapter 3: The Hunt is on

_**Alright! Now we're kicking off in the Arkham City timeline. For anyone who's played the game you know where we are, but Their will be some changes in the story as well as an Alternate version of things. Thank you all for Reading Part 1 which is now at 900 views! Thank you all so much! It means a lot to have some people reading my work and showing some love in the review section. This has some Harley Quinn and Batman bits, so be reading :)**_

_**Now for some news, I ship out soon for Army Basic in about Three months so I hope to have Part 2 done before them. So if you don't see me posting or anything for about 15 weeks around September then you'll know where I'll be.**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**One hour before the incarceration of Bruce Wayne, Park Row rooftops-**_

Diesel awoke with a groan as his sister woke him up with a quick kick to stomach, "Ugh, I had a feeling this would be a long night."

"Tie your boots up and get some coffee, we must find our Brother before Protocol 10 begins." Erika said as she took her Krinkov off of her back.

Erika and Diesel never returned to the corridor after that fateful night and neither did their brother Hans. Not a word besides 'I'm off to visit a friend' came from his lips as he walked into the cold and hostile domain of Arkham city. Like a ghost, he vanished into the darkness. After the disappearance of 'Lester Kurtz' at the docks and a shootout between the TYGER guards and the 9th Company lead to a break in intelligence that cracked the very face of Coldwater International's black operation.

The main benefactor and creator of Arkham City was non other than the man who hired them for the operation in Arkham Asylum only one year ago. Erika, at the time, was out of country in the middle east tracking the whereabouts of a man known as 'The Demon'. But from what Diesel told her about Hugo Strange was that he was a 'oddball'. Hans, on the other hand, only said one thing: Another Contradiction.

She never understood her brother, even when they grew up together in the ramshackle and broken home in the Deep American South. But she would never think that he would just run away from them especially since he spent years trying to find her and Diesel. Why would he just throw it all away at the drop of a hat?

"What in the name of the almighty is Protocol 10?" Diesel asked his sister as he rolled off the old mattress and began to slip on his boots.

"Something big," Erika told him as she handed him his PKP and ammo rigging. "Something really big. Big enough for the Joker and Penguin to start an open war."

The sound of gun fire reputed from the near by TYGER entrance to Arkham city, a dinner bell to the forsaken masses of Arkham city of new arrivals, fresh meat, to the mega prison. Diesel and Erika leaped to the ready and ran across the roof tops to the see the newest addition to the Arkham body count. She laid on her stomach near the edge of the roof with her binoculars in hand and began calling out the names of several top ranking Gotham elites like Jack Ryder and surprisingly Bruce Wayne!

"Wayne!?" Erika Gasped, "Wayne is in Arkham?!"

"What did he do, fuck one of Sharp's favorite escorts or something?" Diesel said jokingly with a hint of truth, Sharp was a fan of prostitutes.

"Whatever he did it must have pissed someone off pretty good. We better..."

"Oi, Diesel Blondie! We got problem here at the Corridor!" Sean shouted as the sounds of Gunfire echoed throughout the microphone.

"Shit!" Diesel said as he took to his feat. "I had a fucking feeling this was going to be a long ass night."

* * *

_**Inside the church, twenty minutes later-**_

Harley lead her crew of clown on a rampage into the church. Their object was simple, take a couple of doctors to the Steel mill and set up a little surprise for Batman in the bell tower. She didn't regret letting her men go wild, as long as they didn't do anything to her she was content with whatever acts of cruelty they committed on the people of Arkham city. They were scum and so were he goons, so whatever happen to them was their own undoing.

The doctors and their guards were tied up in the center of the great cathedral with some of her goons guarding the doctors with their own weapons turned against them. Harley was completely aloof about the whole situation as her mind was more focused on the fading health of her puddin and the imminent appearance of her beloved Dark Knight. The possible death of the Joker was very real to her unlike never before. First he would be deathly sick and nearing the light of death itself, then he would be fine and cheery without the scaring and rips in his face. It was all to strange for Harley and even Harleen, but what struck both of them the most was how the Joker would act around her... Like before he would be sweet and nice, then turn on her at the drop of a hat. But lately he's been more secluded, more malevolent, and more detached from the world around him besides his plan and Scarface. Only once in awhile did he ever show her a single ounce of true emotion, the little nugget that brought Harley to throw away her life as Harleen. Those moments she cherished more than anything, as did the rarity of sex that the Joker gave to him or rather Harley gave to the Joker when he was sleeping...

But Harleen would always stop her and tell explain to her that due to his condition his reproductive system was nothing more than extra skin. The brief moments of Harleen taking control lead to her diving into research into the TITAN formula and it's effects on the body. The countless numbers of doctors she and her crew captured were forced to do anything the psychotic clowns demanded them to do. She brought a number of doctors to the side after the drawing of the Joker's blood to examine her findings and all concluded that the over douse of TITAN acted like a extreme form of cancer or Tuberculosis, eating away at everything living and ripping the life out of Mister J until he was only a shell of his former self. Both side of the Harlquinn fought desperately to save the Joker from his fate but all seemed to be in vain as he his condition worsened with each passing day.

Tonight was the night that she had to bring in the big guns...

Harleen may have despised the Joker but she couldn't see Harley like this anymore. The stress of the Joker dying coupled with the limitless tasks he's giving her was bringing her to a breaking point. But seeing her Dark Knight only days before hand whisked away all her troubles with in seconds. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was here in Arkham. His presence was thick in the air. A demanding presence of powerful man that seemed to irradiate throughout Gotham and even now Arkham City. She could feel him coming closer, closer to the church, closer to her... The smell of the sweat dripping off of his brow, the sound of his heart throbbing in his iron cast chest, the firm yet gentle hands caressing her hour glass figure, and the his thin lips gracing her...

Neither of them could explain their attraction to the two opposing figures in her life. For the Joker it was because he was a man with a dream and maybe the it was the same for the Dark Knight. Both of the men were strong for their cause and fought without end against one another. It seemed like it would go on forever...

But it seemed that this night might be the curtain call for Joker, Batman, possibly and herself as well...

"Harley!" One of the thugs called to her as she broke out of another episode of fantasy that she occasional divided into time after time.

"What?!" She scolded the thug as she jumped out of her trance.

"We got a guy sayin he knows ya." Another Thug replied. "Some French guy name John or somethin."

"Jean! My name is Jean-Baptiste Astor! _Porc américain stupide! (Stupid American Pig)" _Astor hissed as a thug knocked him out with the butt of his M-16.

"Yeah I know'em," Harley said coldly. "He helped me and Joker outta the Asylum. Throw him in the back of the truck with da other quack and make it snappy!"

"Got it Harley." The two thugs said as they dragged him outside to their ice cream truck.

"If Froggy is here in Arkham then his friends are here too! These guys will kill ya for kicks just like my Joker so what ya selves!" Harley warned them as she looked around for those crazy Germans, the Irishman, and Allen.

The loud crack of the remote controlled fifty caliber rifle in the bell tower signaled the worst and best possible scenario for Harley Quinn, Batman is in Arkham City...

"Line up in front of the door! I want that to be the only way in and out!" Harley yelled to her men to get ready for the entrance of the Batman. A few minutes passed and soon he appeared, cape and cowl and all.

"Hiya B-man!" Harley said with a cheerful tone as pushed the goons aside as she walked seductively toward Batman. "How's it hangin Bats? Been ages since the Asylum, you came to check on my puddin? Well tough luck. He hasn't been feeling himself lately and isn't up for a visit. He ain't doing so good that idiot doctor I sent from here didn't help! I've seen more smarts from these bozos!"

Batman didn't said a word as Harley began to circle him with a small smile on her face. "Alright freaks! Watch the quacks while I take care of bats! If I see you looking over here i'll rip those peeper out of your head faster than you can scream, GOT ME?!" Harley Barked to her men who compiled with out a grumble.

Harley then motioned Batman over to the entrance to the Bell tower, "This a way." She whisper to the Dark Knight.

He nodded and slowly walked into the closed room, leaving only him and Harley alone. Harley makes the first move, throwing herself into his arms and planting a kiss on his lips. It was short, yet sweet to the touch. She missed him, she truly did, but Harley knew why he was her or at least Harleen did.

"Thanks for comin Bats..." She said with a sigh as she laid against him once. "What'cha lookin for this time? Joker, the rifle, or me?" She asked him.

"We have to stop meeting like this Harleen." Batman told her as he pushed her off of him. "Catwoman said something about Hugo Strange working together with Joker, is their anything you can tell me on this?"

Harley rolled her eyes and gave a annoyed grumble, "Do you ever just play for a bit?"

"Repeat that for me?" Batman asked in his more calm, soothing, and caring tone of Bruce Wayne. Harley was the only woman he really spoke to in this voice when he dawned the cape and cowl. It seemed to be the only voice she would respond to, and the only voice that the Dark Knight enjoyed speaking to her in.

Harley gave a little smirk and kissed him on the lips, "That's the B-man I love..." She said in almost a whisper before she broke off as she remembered her own mission that night.

"It's up there Bats. Take a look around and enjoy it while you can." Harley said as she started toward the door, swaying her hips as she slowly walked away toward the door. "You know where I'll be." She blew a dreamy kiss to him as she exited the room.

She stepped out to see the bodies of her men laying motionless on the ground in pools of Blood with a looming figure standing in the center of the room with the fear stricken EMT's laying on the ground like horrified toddles. He held two heavy framed pistols with long barrels and suppressors in his gloved hands. Harley gasped and slowly crept toward the door, exiting without alerting the man in the shadows.

The figure holstered his large pistols as he knelled down toward a nurse laying on the ground in fear. He slowly picked her off and ground, her eyes closed tightly fearing the worst. The figure spoke up in a ominous and altered tone, "Don't be afraid. They are gone now. Who owns them?"

The nurse opened her eyes only to see a pair of red lenses of sorts staring at her from the darkness. Their wasn't a face, only a dark outline, red eyes, and heavy breaths fading into cold and bleak world around them. She shuddered in fear at the thought of another lunatic in a mask ripping her heart out and eating it, selling it, or just out of pure fucking meanness.

"J-J-J... Jo.. Jo.. Joker..." She stuttered as she stood paralyzed in fear at the terrifying figure in front of her.

"Hmmm..." The figure replied. "Thank you..." He said as he turned and made his way to the door.

"Return to your posts and remain vigilant. Good luck to you all." Were his last words as he walked out of the Church, leaving the EMT's and their guards in shock and disbelief.

* * *

_**Meanwhile on the Roof tops-**_

Sean gazed down through the scope of his GOL magnum toward the front door of the church as Harley Quinn exited with a couple of goons. "Permission to fire." He asks Erika who was also watching through her Binoculars at the escaping Harlequin.

"Denied." She told him. "You, Allen, and Diesel are to follow her. Are you sure she took Astor?"

"Sure as sunshine." Sean replied darkly as he took his finger off the trigger.

"What's the plan then Erika?" Allen asked as he checked the ammo in his Saiga-12 shotgun.

Allen 'Reggie' Vorster, The South African FNG (Fucking New Guy), has only been with Coldwater for a year. But his talents were harden in the year before their mission to rescue the Joker. He was more confidant and little more sharper than in the Asylum, but he was still the new guy when compared to Sean and the rest. He wore a Rhodesian brushstroke pattern BDU covered by a thick green winter parka with his signature slouch hat cocked at an angle with a half ass grin on his face.

"You know Harley better than anyone Reggie." Erika told him, "Where would she go?"

The thunder of an explosion interrupted Reggie's train of thought as they looked up into the sky to see Batman flying away from the burning bell tower of the Gotham Cathedral.

"Batman might have saved us the trouble..." Allen said as they watched him fly through the air toward the Steel Mill.


	5. Chapter 4: Regret

_**A purely Harley x Batman Chapter. Things are now getting fun and I'm sorry everyone for not put dating as soon. Internet being down, laying floors, and prepping for the Army is on my heels. So enjoy this chapter!**_

_**With Love ~Drenser**_

* * *

_**One hour Later, Steel Mill, Joker's loft.**_

Harley paced in front of the unconscious Dark Knight as the newly enslaved Jean Astor reluctantly attached the blood transfusion machine array of hoses to Batman's arms. He swore and muttered to himself in French as Harley quietly fought with her inter demons, heart, soul, and Harleen on what she had done to the Dark Knight. Batman fought through steel mill looking for the Joker and even saved one of the doctors Harley whisked away to the smelter. But even when she sent 'Mr. Hammer' to stop him, Batman never faltered. Her little act with the fake Joker gag and later beating him over the head finally stopped him.

But Harley, not Harleen, was having second thoughts about the ordeal...

"Done." Astor said in a disgusted tone as he stood up to see Harley pacing back and forth.

"Doc! Doc! Get over here now!" The Joker called to him with a raging cough as the disease ridden corpse of a man appeared from around the corner with a large smile on his scared and rotting face. The Joker's heath was deteriorating rapidly with every passing hour and began to show on his body as his ribs began to show and his skin beginning to rot, But his happy go lucky persona didn't rot away like the rest of his body.

"You heard the Joker..." Harley said in a grave tone as she starred worryingly at Batman, ignoring the angry gaze of Astor as he stomped toward the Joker swearing in French.

The man and the walking corpse walked into a medical room outside of the loft leaving Harley and the knocked out Batman alone together. She stares at him as he sits motionless in his chair as the machine next to him pumps douches of Joker's TITAN poisoned blood into his veins, poisoning him with the same cancerous disease as her puddin.

A wave of emotions struck the Harlequin like a run away freight train about to jump the rails, Fear, Anger, Anxiety, dread, and above all, for the first time in years, Shame. She was the one who set up the rifle in the tower, she was the bait to bring him here, She was the one to beat him with a baseball bat and lead to this hell hole of a mill. But she couldn't but wonder, What was her own Joker planning for Gotham? What was he planning for Batman?

She cast an eye over to the blood transfusion machine and the small bag of tainted blood hanging in a bag by a hook over the machine itself. A nervous shiver raced down her spin as she saw the bag slowly empty into Batman's veins.

"Oh god... W-W-What have I done?" She gasps to herself as tears began to break from her beautiful blue eyes ruining her eye liner.

_"You might have killed the big bad bat..."_ Harleen replied watching the blood leak into his body. The faint sound of laughter echoed through her mind with every drop of the poisonous brew entered her Dark Knight. _"You... You MIGHT have..."_

"What are ya talkin about! If we can't find da snow man, then who will save Mister J?..." Harley became very very quiet for a moment, as did Harleen, as she walked over and sat on Batman's bound lap. "Who will save Batman?" She whispered as she cuddled in the unconscious Knights lap.

She laid in his lap, cuddled against his tied down and unconscious body like a little girl sitting in daddy's lap while he slept, but this time with a look of shame and dread instead of her usual happy go lucky grin. Her tears turned from streams to rivers as she looked on at the face of her Dark Knight. She quickly looked down to the floor in shame, she didn't deserve to look at him let alone sit weeping in his lap like a little girl.

_"Say something Harley..."_ Harleen told her as they starred at the floor.

"No..." Harley replied stubbornly, burying her head in Batman's chest.

A soft and effeminate hand graced her face and turned it toward the room. A figure clad in a white doctors coat, red top, black skirt, glasses, and blonde hair tied in a bun appeared in front of her. It was her old self, before the Joker, Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel.

"Yes Harley." Harleen affirmed. "It might be the last time you ever do. So make it count would cha?"  
Harley nodded and stiffed her position to that of a respectable woman. With a deep breath and a heavy heart Harley spoke truthfully, just as or more than she did in Arkham Asylum only a year before.

"Bats... I-I..." Harley struggled, giving a cough to clear her through. "I don't know where to start."

_"But I do."_ Harleen replied with a smile as they both took Batman's hand. "_It all started in Blackgate, believe it or not, when you saved me. I was cold to you, yeah, but you saved me without a second look. My mind was to far into the Joker's lies to believe that you of all people were a hero. But to me, you were doing what you do not for fame, glory, or even any kind a gain. But you did it because it was right. Something that I, or should I say Harley, wish that I could do. _  
_All the chasing, the cat and mouse, cape and clown, and the sieges at Arkham, I believed deep down past the make up and gag toys that you were still a good guy. I still do, even after we beat the Joker. You care for me and even... Well... Love me. I know you can't show it when your wearing your cape and cowl, that you have to hide it or else you'll loss your dark and ominous display. But in those beautiful eyes of your I can see a different man... A man that life just- just- just threw away... A man that may live in a good home, but deep down a man wishes he could talk about what happen to him in his life, but he knows that if he does he will cry an ocean and he will drown..._  
_You won't drown, your to strong to let yourself drown in your own sorrow, and I won't let you... I'll never let you drown because I know you'll never let me drown either. I'll always be with you... Even if you do kick the bucket tonight, I'll always be there with you... I love you my Dark Knight..."_

Harleen faded away into Harley who once again found herself looking at the unconscious Dark Knight before her. She knew she was going crazy, but it seemed as if what happened was real. Was it? Did she really see her former self, Harleen, appear before her and actually speak to the man in the cape and cowl? Was she losing her grip on reality completely?

The Harliquin couldn't think of an answer at the moment and only starred at Batman's magnificent chin. "Wait... Could it be?" She said to herself as she really looked at Batman's perfect chin and jaw. "Where have I seen this before?" She asked herself as she graced her hands on his chin.

_"Your a mystery to me, but I guess I'm one to you too."_ Harleen whispered as Harley's hands slowly moved up toward the cowl, her fingers breaking the seal. Without a word she slowly lifted the cowl off of her Dark Knight's face, as if she were a princess lifting the visor off of a knights helmet to see the face of her savior. But what laid under the cowl sent a typhoon of wonder, awe, and above all a bombshell to her already damaged and distorted psyche.

"Bruce..." Both Harley and Harleen whisper in utter astonishment and disbelief.

She slowly got out of his lap and stood in front of Bruce Wayne rubbing her eyes to see if it were true. She pulled the cowl back over his face, shivering and shaking madly as she tried to calm herself down. She walked over to a near by table where she kept a bottle of cognac she swiped from a Sionis's personal stash that she discovered in their office home seven months ago. The bottle was full when she first found it sitting in Sionis's safe, but the last few months turned the full bottle into a half and soon into a quarter.

But after this bombshell, Harley tipped the bottle until it the last remains ran down her throat. The drink was pure and flowery in taste, a mixture of vanilla, nuts, and caramel. She loved it because of that sweetness, that peace of mind in a bottle. But even peace in a bottle couldn't stop the war of the heart, the mind, and the soul inside of the wild Pisces girl that was Harley Quinn and Harleen Quinzel. Seeing his face threw everything she ever knew about Batman and Bruce into the weeds and set the field ablaze. Nothing made sense at all yet it did at the same time.

"It was... It was him..." Harley and Harleen both gasped as she placed her hands on temples and she tried to rap her mind around it all.

"Harley!" The Joker called to her, breaking her train of thought. "The good doctor has some news on my health that I am just thrilled about!" The Joker told her as he pushed Astor toward Harley.

"Well, from what the other doctors has deduced." Astor started. "The TITAN drug has poisoned his blood stream and has turned into a form of fast acting cancer. Now this type of illness, just like some strains of cancer, are incurable. But there are two people here, in Arkham City, who have a cure. One of them, as you know since you did declare war on him, Mr. Freeze, has worked feverishly for Le Clown. But due to his disappearance, their is now only one person, or shall I say-"

The heavy coughs of the Dark Knight broke the Joker's train of thought, replacing his plans with a large smile. "Batman... Darling..." The Joker said with a ominous and cheery tone.

Harley blocked out everything around her as she retreated back into her world of flight and fantasy. It was the only way she knew how to escape Joker's abuse or reality itself. But this time she was more or less praying that the Joker would summon up the strength to deliver one last smack to the face or kick to the stomach, at least that pain would go away in a matter of seconds, but the truth about Batman and Bruce Wayne being one in the same would leave a scar on her already shifty and ocean like mind.

How could someone she love be the person she use to hate? How can the man who showed her such an honest face and treat her like a queen be the man who locks her away in a third world asylum without a second thought? How can these men be one in the same? Their personalities contradicted each other utterly and completely! Bruce is a sweet and caring man who would do anything to help people, while batman is cold and hard... But he helps people, like herself...  
Her fantasy shattered along with the broken window as the Joker pushed the bound Batman out of the window and back out into the freezing hell of Arkham City. She only heard bits and pieces of the conversation, but what she did hear was that he was going after Mr. Freeze under the threat of the thousands of people that could die by the hundreds of shipments the Joker made of his tainted blood. Harley knew that Ivy would never help the Joker for anything, especially after poisoning her with TITAN as well. But Ivy was her best friend and she some how lived through the TITAN cancer.

Then it hit her...

If Bruce, or Batman, or who ever, had the courage to help her when all she did was try to kill him. Maybe Harley could do the same, help him before the Joker killed him. She was angry that he never told her the truth, angry enough to beat him to a pulp, but not to let him or the people of Gotham die.

Harleen burst with pride as Harley began thinking about saving him, but she couldn't help but ask her the obvious question: "Is he gonna save the Joker or Are you gonna save him?"  
Harley didn't reply and slowly began to walk out of the loft with out a word mentioned to the Joker or Astor.


	6. Chapter 5: I Work Alone

_**Being sick is not fun, but it does give me sometime to do some classes online and write for y'all. Here's a chapter with some HarleyxBatman ship and some OC action. The next chapter is going to be fun as well. Oh and thank you all for the 1000 views for Part 1! Only a month being up and I have that many! Thank you all!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

Arkham City was a disaster by any standard set by any nation. Heavy flooding during the construction and exodus of the civilian population lead to vast amounts of Arkham City only accessible by man made bridges constructed out of wood and metal and by the former highway 227 that stretched through the once active industrial park. The man made bridges turned into chock points for the rivaling Joker and Penguin clan's as they battled for control of the mega prison. The Highway became a main kill zone for snipers of both groups and everyone over the course of the last few months learned to stay off the highway when the sun was up. But due to the resent acquisition of Night vision and inferred scopes by both sides lead to people avoiding the Highway, or open ground for the matter, completely.

Veteran criminals who lived in Gotham since they were toddlers began to sell their services to the highest bidder for anything ranging from money, guns, food, and even a common winters coat! Anything to simply survive in this hellhole was enough for a man to do anything, ANYTHING, to simply make it till sundown or to see the sun rise again. Some joined the Joker or Penguin's factions just to get a warm meal and safety from the feral and unaffiliated killers who roamed the streets of Arkham City.

Over the years Harley began to memorize the alley ways and hidden paths through out Old Gotham, now known as Arkham City, even after the massive flooding. She knew some of the roof top path's as well as some of Batman's own routs throughout the city, which helped her navigate her way to the GCPD building where she witnessed Batman beating the tar out of the Joker's thugs. It wasn't rocket science to know where Mr. Freeze would set up shop, especially since it held a gigantic and very powerful AC unit used to preserve the bodies of dead criminals for examination. Not to mention that this is where she personally sent a team of thugs to claim the cure for her Joker.

Joker... Bruce Wayne... Batman... Three men, now Two, that sent shivers of fear, love, and admiration down her spine when ever the name or sight of them came up to her. This night was special in so many ways to the Harliquinn. To Harley this was the night she could finally make Mister J proud of her and possibly win his approval, yet at the same time it could be the night she wins the approval of her Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne. Both sides of her mind were more or less set on one goal, Save the life of the one she loved. But the question remained, Who would it be?

The Joker or Bruce Wayne?

Those name seemed to be intertwined tonight as the Joker's plan began to take form. Who was going to win this battle of wits? Who was going to be the winner of this titanic struggle? Who was going to live to see the sunrise?

Who was going to be there for Harley when the other passes?

Joker or Bruce?

She was never the one to make a decision of such importants. After all the Joker always told her what to do and always made the choices for her. But Batman always gave her a choice. He never pinned her down with any matter and always made sure that her choice, weather it was going back to Arkham or trying to go clean again, was tailored specifically for her. That was one of the joys of Bruce Wayne that seemed to flourished out from under the cowl. Though he wasn't this grand and sly figure like the Joker, Bruce showed his love through simple or complex forms of acts for her. When she was Harleen it was simply having the Iceberg Lounge open a little later and the band to stay longer. When she became Harley, It ranged from trying to help her toward sanity or just having a cell next to the Joker. Something was always off about Batman in away to the Harliquinn, but she never really put any thought toward it until tonight.

From across the roof tops she spotted Batman finishing off the remains of the strike team she sent to recover the Snowman as she called Mr. Freeze.

"Idiots..." She groaned to herself as the stupidity of the hired help. Harley then made her way toward the GCPD building across a series of bridges and walk ways made by the inmate populous. With pistol in hand she managed to navigate her way past a few on looking Two-Face thugs and finally to the old GCPD headquarters. When she reached the former parking lot for the numerous patrol cars that once sat vacant in the yard, she found the unconscious bodies of the clown masked Joker clan laying scatted on the ground with snow plying on to them.

She scoffed at the clown themed bozos contemptuously, Even the once bubbly Harley Quinn couldn't tolerate failure. A rush of arctic air caught her off guard as the sight of the open garage door took her attention. She walked through the door to the sight of deceased penguin thugs frozen to the walls and their skin turned a dark and unsettling black.

"_Hypothermia." _Harleen told her. _"Fries did this."_

Harley looked down at a unfrozen thug and smiled to see a red jacket with a black fur lined hood. She quickly took the jacket off of the dead thug to warm herself up. The winter was harsh this year, maybe a sign from the all mighty that this year was a time of lose. Who knows?

Once she entered the GCPD building she heard the calling card of the Batman, Pleads for mercy and breaking bone. She quietly stalked down the hall until a another one of Penguins paramilitary thugs crossed her path with a 12 gauge shotgun in hand. The thug, like all of Cobblepot's men, wore a top of the line winter coat with warm combat pants and boots. Some were Ski masks while others took to a simple scarf to keep warm. Harley cared enough for the hoard of clowns to ask the Joker for simple long sleeve shirts to keep them warm in this winter, but the Joker always replied with "Na! They won't make it till sundown anyways, who cares!"

Harley did, at least for some of the ones who actually felt bad for her.

The thug watched as Batman fought off the final remains of the Penguin's team. The look in his eyes was enough for Harley, after all she use to fear the Bat too. But not anymore. Batman then picked up one of the last members of the team by the throat and slammed him against the ice covered walls of the station.

"Freeze. Where is he?" Batman demanded from the thug, who began to grovel for his life as the dark toned Penguin began to threaten him with his life.

"Hold it right their freak!" The Thug with the Spas-12 shouted as he popped around the corner and aimed right for Batman.

"Back off pal!" Harley shouted as she kicked his legs out from under him and turned his own gun on him. "Don't cha know it's rude to jump someone?"

Batman returned to his captive and extracted the information he needed on Freeze. But instead of leaping to action as usual, he turns to Harley with a scowl. "What are you doing here Quinn?" He asks with a growl.

Harley throws the gun away and replies honestly, "I'm here to help you."

"Help me or Help the Joker?" Batman growled. "You are the Joker's pseudo-girlfriend. How blind do you think I am?"

"Damn it Bats!" Harley snapped. "I'm here to help you! Mister J has gone to far this time with poisoning you! I wanna help you-"

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who knocked me out-" Batman interjected harshly.

"And I was the one who let you go from the steel mill." Harley bit back. "Don't trust me?"

"What reason did you ever give me to think the otherwise?" Batman retorted. "Don't play me for a fool Quinn. Trust is earn through loyalty, not by a hopeless romance and empty words." Batman pushed her a side and made his way toward the exit.

"Then give me a chance B-man!" Harley shouted back. "You gotta have someone like me to make it through this hellhole! You can't just go all John Wayne or Lone Ranger! Let me come with you!"

"I work alone Harleen." Batman growled as he stood in front of the door, his hands ready to push the door back into Arkham City.

"I don't Bruce." Harley replied, which made Batman instantly turn around to face her.

"What did you say?" Batman gasped, making him start stomping toward Harley.

Harley stood her ground and narrowed her gaze, "What do I gotta repeat myself now? You heard what I said. If we're on a last name bases then I should just call you Wayne."

Batman closed in on Harley until they were staring down at one another. Their eyes were locked onto each other, Batman's full of contempt and bottled up rage, while Harley's were full of anxiety. If this was the Joker standing in front of her, albeit it in better health, he would have struck her with the back of his palm and kicked her in the ribs. She braced herself for one a Joker style beating or a Batman beat down, But Bruce didn't lay a hand on her and turned away from her.

"Bats?" Harley asked him as he slowly crept toward the exit. He didn't turn around. Knowing she wasn't the one to give up, Batman allowed her to walked up behind him and place her hand on his shoulder. "Bruce?" She asked in a warm and caring voice.

Bruce... His name coming off her tongue sounded sweeter than it coming from Selena or Talia. She was always special to him... But just like Selena Kyle or Talia al Ghul, was he just going to let her get away? Unlike Selena, Talia knew who he really was. Now his Harlequin knows his secret. Or at least one of them. Talia was a beautiful and exotic woman, but she was a terrorist and an unrepentant killer. Harleen and Talia had a lot in common, other than being the lackey of a mad clown. Harley never asked much from him unlike Talia who asked that he gives up his moral code to never take a life.

Now she was asking for something so simple, yet has the most dyer of consequences...

"Let me come with you..."

He took a deep breath and let it out a slow and plagued breath that soon erupted into a heavy cough. Harley's eyes pricked up and soon she quickly ran back to Freeze's lab to retrieve some medicine. In the blink of an eye she returned to aid her Dark Knight, after all she was a doctor...

"Ya see honey," Harley said in a sweet tone. "You need me. I know how to treat this, I did nurse my puddin back to his old self..."

Batman looked at her with a dark glare. Making Harley rethink her choice of words, "Uhh Look I want to help you and you NEED my help if your going to live through this. If we can't find the Snowman then we'll have to try Ivy."

Batman threw the pills down his throat and responded, "I would have better luck with Freeze then Ivy."

Harley giggled, "That's why you have me silly! Me and Ivy are best friends till the end!"

Batman let out a tired snicker, one of the first form of laughter Batman gave in a long time, "No... Stay with me. We need to find freeze, He has a cure already made. We have to get moving."

"How do you know Bruce?" Harley asked him. "You sure the Snowman has it? I know Joker has been given it to him hard by taking his wife and all but-"

"We have to try." Batman told her as he let out his hand to her.

Harley looked at his hand and then to him with a smile. Maybe he does trust her. Maybe this is her chance.

"We do." She said, taking his hand as they went after the Penguin. But Bruce couldn't help but wounder, Which side of her was he speaking to? Harley or Harleen?

* * *

_**Meanwhile, Penguin's Arena, The Bowery- **_

"4 o'clock Diesel!" Hans shouted to his brother as a thug rushed toward him. Diesel delivered a swift and heavy handed cross to the thug.

"Danke Hans!" Diesel shouted as Hans cracked the skull of another Thug. "Great to have you back!"

"Ja Ja!" Hans replied as he headbutted another thug and beat down another with a trench shovel. "Less talking more blood letting!"

Back to back, the Brothers fought on against unbelievable odds as the Penguin sent wave after wave of eager recruits to prove themselves against his newest captives.

From atop the barbed wire and electric fencing stood the triumphant Oswald Cobblepot as he watched with hungry eyes as the two brothers ripped, beat, and smashed the new comers faces in with anything ranging from their bare hands to trench shovels. Next to him was his infamous one armed mercenary, Sickle, and to his left was a bound and gagged Erika, his newest trophy. Behind him was Tracy, his loyal Hench wench and secretary, standing with a grueling expression as she watched Hans and Diesel battle it out with the new blood.

Tracy knew Hans for awhile now since he was capture a few days before hand. His abilities marveled them and their boss, even without his terrifying exoskeleton and custom pistols. Cobblepot saw a weapon he could use against the Joker, a powerful game changer, but Tracy saw a wild animal who need to be tamed. Separated they were a force to be reckon with, but together they proved to be unstoppable.

As for their loud mouthed sister, She would prove to be a good 'Call Girl' for his boys. But before she could begin with her duties to the troops, Oswald Cobblepot wanted to enjoy the night's blood letting before going on a grand crusade against his hated enemy: The Joker.

"Come on lads! Show these krauts what for!" Cobblepot cheered on as he smoked a big cigar while watching Hans rip into another round of thugs with a spade, finishing off the last wave covered in blood from his Jackboots, Oak Pea pattern Pants with suspenders, his tattooed chest, and black panzer cap. Both of the brothers stood back to back awaiting another hoard to arrive, but all that came was the sound of clapping from the Penguin and Tracy.

"Grand display of brutality! I wouldn't expect anything less from Huns like you two! Go on to the lounge and have yourselves a drink on m-"

A trench shovel impaled itself in the wall behind the Penguin with an angry Hans and Diesel staring at him menacingly from below.

"We had a deal you pompous blimey bastard!" Diesel shouted in response. "We fight and win then we get our sister and comrades back! Now hand them over before we show you the meaning of BRUTALITY!"

"And I want answers bird!" Hans told him Darkly. "You know what I'm talking about Oswald!"

"This what I get for trying to deal with savages. Tracy!" Penguin shouted to his wench.

"Right away Mister Cobblepot!" Tracy responded as she pressed a button on the wall, dropping a container from the ceiling and into the Arena.

"Fucking missed you blind cunt!" Diesel shouted back crudely to Tracy as a TITAN fueled henchman stepped out of the wreckage.

Hans and Diesel took position side by side with knives and trench shovels at the ready as the TITAN beast circled around them like a shark.

"You boys have fun now!" Tracy said as she dragged Erika away into the Museum, leaving Diesel and Hans behind to fend for themselves against the beast.

"Whats the plan dear brother?" Diesel asked Hans as they stood their ground, showing no fear as the Thug came closer.

"Kill them all." Hans shouted as the TITAN thug let out a roar as Hans charged forward ready to strike the beast down.


	7. Chapter 6: Carnage

_**Here's another good chapter for ya! Sorry if I was a little ruff at the end with grundy, but I could think of a scene to describe or work around it in a AU. But here's the chapter and I hope you enjoy it. **_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

Harley stayed close to her Dark Knight as they navigated through the Penguin's museum. The T-rex at the door startled her, making her rap her arm around Batman's unintentional. He shrugged her off, unsurprisingly, and continued on. A few display cases caught her eye causing her to stop and take a gander at the collection of wares Mr. Cobblepot amassed over the years.

Display cases full of taxidermy bodies of the Penguins enemies cluttered the floor as did the empty cases for some of the more 'lively' enemies. A case for the Joker caught her eye the most as well as one for herself. Her case was full of pictures of the Joker with hearts and lip stick marks as well as her trademark Black and Red Diamond clusters. She pressed a button near the bottom of the case and a oratory by Oswald Cobblepot III himself in his heavy British accent began to play.

"Soon to be another interesting peace in my collection, The infamous Arkham doc turned bubbly tart for the Joker. This little tart won't be so bubbly once I get my hands on her..."

'Arkham doc turned tart for the Joker...', His words like razor blades cutting across her body all at one. Was this what they, her enemies, or rather her 'Puddin's' enemies, thought about her? Is this her existence to these people, just a toy to the Joker?

Joker was right, Words are like kerosene and a joke is fire. She was a joke to these people...

Before she knew it the speaker spewed sparks and the recording of the arrogant Cobblepot began to repeat the name 'Joker' over and over again. Her boot was planted firmly in the speaker without her knowledge or memory of smashing the speaker. 'Must have been Harleen' She thought to herself as she took her foot out of the speaker.

"Harleen." Batman groaned in his usual gruff. "Quiet."

Harley looked over to see Batman facing the corridor leading deeper into the museum. 'He didn't even turn around to check on me...' Harley thought to herself with a sigh.

'_You did beat him with a bat, tied him up, and poisoned him.' _Harleen replied. _'He doesn't trust you.'_

'But I told him how to get cured, I offered to help him, and now here we are going after the bird!' Harley exclaimed in dismay. 'How could he not trust me? Hell if I was planning on double crossing'em I would uh blabbed about him being Bruce Wayne!'

'_I still can't believe that's my Brucey under all that stoic rage and cowl...' _Harleen said with a long sigh and a sniffle.

'Mista J was right, we all hiding something under a mask.' Harley replied with a slight grin as she took her place at Batman's side, a place that she actual felt worthy of taking even for a few short moments. 'Makes you wonder why he took the mask in the first place...' _  
_

_'The Joker always said he and Batman understood each other... Maybe he knows why Bruce does what he does... Maybe he knows who he is under the cowl. Maybe under the money, the cars, the fancy galas, the billion dollar home, and the cape and cowl. Bruce is holding some demons that only the Joker could even begin to fathom.'_

'I wish I could do something for him,' Harley replied as she watched him walk a little faster to get away from her. 'Like how he helped me...'

'_We still love him, no matter who he really is or what he's done...' _Harleen said with a sniffle.

'No matter what...' Harley affirmed as she wiped her eyes with her gloved hand. 'But what about Mister J?'

The terror stricken screams of a bleeding man caught her and Batman's attention as a penguin thug charged forward with a large gun shot wound to the side of his arm from a high caliber handgun. "HELP ME! HELP!" The thug screamed as he ran toward Batman with the eyes of fear stricken animal fleeing for his life from a hoard of hungry Jackals.

The man fell to the icy floor bleeding out before the two as the howls of the Penguin echoed throughout the depths of the museum. Causing Batman to run down the hall toward the sounds of pain and fear, two things that Harley became accustom to over the years as the Joker's toy. Rounding a corner they found a grand doorway to the arena where the Penguin held his own version of 'Intonation' for his would-be soliders.

"What happen here?..." Batman gasped in a whisper as mounds of bodies scattered the grounds before him. The fencing was torn down and high voltage lines laid in pools of blood, cooking the corpses and releasing a twisted odor of roasting flesh and iron. Corpses hung from the spiked ledges like trophies above a fireplace and the gigantic and deformed body of a TITAN fueled thug laid face first in pile of bodies with large cuts and gun shot wounds.

"By the looks of it the Joker did this..." Harley gasped at the sheer brutality in front of them.

"PLEASE! LEAVE ME BE! LEAVE ME BE!" The frantic cries of the Penguin echoed from deeper with in the museum toward the Iceberg Lounge.

"Hold on!" Batman said to Harley as he grabbed her by the waste and lifted them into the air with his Batclaw to escape the horror of the arena. Harley was a little surprised by the sudden grapple by the large arms of Batman. Though it was brief, Harley enjoyed the seconds of being rapped tightly against her Dark Knight. Once on the floor they ran together down the hallway toward the sounds of chaos until they reached the torture chamber where more displays of uncontrollable brutality greeted them in the form of a large ice covered lake dyed red with the blood of a gigantic shark laying belly up and covered with gunshot and slice wounds from something bigger than a knife.

"Fishy!" Harley gasped in terror in her high pitched and childish Harley Quinn tone.

"This isn't Joker's MO." Batman groaned as the smell of rotting fish added to the already unsettling stench of the Penguins home.

"Yeah... He would uh... He would have done sum thin funny." Harley added as she looked on at dead fish in front of them. "This is just... Just..."

"Cruel..." The two said together.

A brief silence took hold but was broken by the scream of Penguin and the muffle shouting of a angry man. "WHERE IS SHE BIRD!?" The voice of a man scream.

Harley and Batman ran across the floating corpse of the gigantic shark until they found a group of men dressed in orange jump suits with the words 'Dead Pig' written across their white tanks tops. They told Batman they were from the strike team sent in by Commissioner Gorden, even gave them the password of 'Sarah' to prove it. But Batman and Harley simply ignored them and broke through the door to the Iceberg Lounge.

The beauty of the lounge never diminished since the founding of Arkham City. The lavish red carpets gave way to a grand chandelier hanging over a massive iceberg like construction in the center of this grand room holding levels of tables around it. At the peak of this gigantic iceberg was a large broken table where Oswald Cobblepot laid pined under the tall boot of a figure in a long dark trench coat coated in blood. An ominous gas mask covered his face and a black peaked cap with a smiling Deathshead resting in its center, hiding his identity under a cloak of death. A black Desert Eagle with a long barrel rested in the figures hand with his thumb placed firmly on the hammer and finger gripped around the trigger with a death grip.

"Repeating myself is not what I had in mind when I came to speak to you, Mr. Cobblepot." The figure said with his distorted voice through the gas mask as he pushed the barrel against the Penguins face. "Nor did I come to waste a bullet on someone of you... Status."

"Hans, please, please just leave me alone! Wh-Wha-What do you want from me?" Penguin groveled at Hans's feet.

"Two things... One:Erika and my team..." Hans responds calmly as he locks the hammer of the Desert Eagle into place. "Where is my sister? Where's my team?"

"Ha-a-a-Hatter! Mad Hatter! He-He- He came to buy her, Talking about someone named Alice! He came by an hour before you and that brother of yours started your rampage! The others were lost on the way back, some say the Joker took'em!" Penguin cried.

"Jervis Tetch," Hans said in a interested and ominous tone. "The mad matter who takes little blonde girls away for 'Tea Time'? Oh Oswald, you just made my night a little better. Now the next question..." He knelled down to Cobblepot's ear, "Who contracted Red Claw for the Metropolis hit on **My Girls? **Who gave the order? Red Claw herself said it was someone who operates without borders, rhyme, or reason. I First thought of the Joker, but no... No... It wasn't funny. But their weapons, their rifles, their bullets... They told the tale of a bird. A flightless bird... You sold the weapons to someone. Now who is this **Someone?"**

"I-I-I..." Penguin hesitated as he tried to find the words to save his life. "I Don't-"

"Remember for me." Hans said as he pressed the barrel harder against Cobblepot's skull.

"The Demon..." Penguin whispered before passing out from fear. Hans gave a sigh and took his boot off of Cobblepots body and his pistol off his forehead, leaving the impression of the .44 caliber barrel on the center of his forehead. He holstered his pistol as the Penguin laid on the ground as the towering figure of Hans stared down at him. Behind him came his more muscular brother, Diesel, still wearing his regular attire with two duffle bag on his back and clutching a AKS-74 and an old STG-44 his tattooed arms with a grim look on his face as he kicked Mr. Freeze's ice gun off the top of the Iceberg.

"She ain't here no more." Diesel told his brother as he took off one of the duffle bags and handed it to Hans. "Pack it move. We gotta find our sister..."

"Jervis has her." Hans responded as he knelled down to Penguin once more and dug into his thick fur coat. "And I know who cursed us to this life once again..." From the Penguin's coat Hans drew a weapon that served him through four years of war, a pistol that he received from an old friend years ago...

"My old friend..." Hans whisper as he drew his old nickel plated Mauser pistol. "I could never leave you..." He whispered to the pistol as he tucked it into his belt and turned to his brother who handed him the Sturmgewehr. "Their is more to the story though, dear brother..."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Batman shouted at the brothers who turned to see the Penguin press a button on a detonator, blowing the iceberg to bits and sending everyone, including Batman and Harley to the bottom of the lounge's basement. Hans and Diesel managed to catch themselves on some of the rubble and pull themselves to safety.

A loud rawer filled echoed from below the basement causing Diesel to look back, but Hans shouted back "Not one step back!" as he ran forward toward the exit still in full exoskeleton.

Diesel looked back and then back at Hans, "This isn't right." He thought to himself. But he gave in to Hans's orders and followed suit, wondering what his brother meant by 'More to the story'

* * *

_**Moments later-**_

Harley and Batman managed to fight off 'The Man down stairs', Soloman Grundy, with no trouble. Convincing Mr. Freeze to aid them in their quest to help Gotham and Batman himself was a little harder due to Harley Quinn's appearance. But after Harley offering to tell him the location of his wife, Nora, Freeze decided to aid them in the creation of a cure, albeit reluctantly and a little confused on why the devoted girlfriend of the Joker was tagging along with the Dark Knight.

The topic soon came to that of finding a stable compound to blend with the cure, something with a natural healing gene blended with human DNA.

The name of Ra's Al Ghul came into the conversation and soon they found their lead... in the form of Batman's ex-lovers Elite Guard, Talia al Ghul's personal guard, as one of them escaped their grasp by breaking out of another display case after the name of Ra's was uttered by the 'unworthy'.

"Talia..." Batman whisper as he watched one of his former lover's bodyguards disappear into the darkness.

"Who's that bats?" Harley asks, using her nickname him instead of his real name.

"No one..." He whispers as he begins taking a sample of the woman's blood to track her down through Arkham. "If Ra's is here, then we've found our cure."

Harley couldn't help but notice the strange look in her Dark Knight's eyes, was he just unwell or was he hiding something again? Speaking of which, Who was Talia? Who was Ra's al Ghul?


	8. Chapter 7: Don't Forget

_**Hey everyone... Sorry for not posting this so soon. I had some issues regarding the death of my dog, Moose, and a complete lack of time. I you all enjoy this chapter since it's a completely 'Barley' struggle chapter. Oh and to respond to a guest, The point of the DNA series is the struggling relationship between Harley and Bruce. **_

_**The name 'The Devils Name is Arkham' stems from the Arkham itself in that it seems to make its victims worse and worse with every visit. Leaving the question of why they are being sent to Arkham, why are they slowly going crazier, and why is it that it seems Batman is loosing himself as well. But those are just my own questions in the whole of the Batman mythos to which I anwser with The devils name is Arkham.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Couple of Hours Later-Wonder Tower Basement.**_

After managing to place a tracker on one of Talia's elite guards after tracking her deep into Two-Face territory. Harley proved to be of some use to him to navigate through Joker territory and into one of his trump cards in the War for Arkham City.

The metro tunnels leading under Arkham City gave way to the vast networks of Vietcong style underground bases and tunnels built by the Joker and his crew over the course since his escape from Arkham Asylum. Following these tunnels lead to the remains of old Gotham and soon to the sub-basement of Wonder Tower. The unlikely relationship between the Harlequin and the Dark Knight bared fruit as a room of Joker thugs openly surrendered on Harley's orders. Her more harsh and harder side impressed Batman as much as her calm and caring half. She held more depth than she ever let on, just as he did. Harley was tough on the goons, but she wanted them to stay alive as much as the could, unless on Mister J's order. Insulting them, dogging them, and threatening their lives was the only way they knew who was in charge. But her voice gave away slight pity toward her clown masked comrades...

"Alright you bozos!" She shouted to them, stomping her foot on the ground. "Get cha lazy asses out uh here! Mister J needs some muscle on Two-Face, he's about to take the museum and I don't want that creep Harvey taken all those toys that bird brain left behind! Now go make my Joker proud!"

"Got it Harley! Sure no problem!" Some replied while other groaned, But one guy didn't and lifted up his mask to reveal the face of a kid only about seventeen or eighteen years old with a scared expression on his face.

"Harley?" He asked in a trembling voice to the pissed off Harlequin.

"What?!" She shouted with a scowl on her face to the young lad with a shotgun hanging across his chest.

Batman knew this kid, his name was Ricky Larson, a homeless serf who made his living on the streets of Gotham as a courier for the various Mafia dons that ran the higher half of the Underworld. Ricky was a scroungy looking kid, but could put his Remington 870 to good use once provoked enough. The red headed and freckled face kid shuttered at the sight of Harley Quinn, "Umm- Uh-" He shuddered in fear.

"Spit it out ginger boy!" Harley snapped.

"Is Joker gonna be alright?" Ricky asked as he held his hands up to protect his face from Harley.

Harley only gave a long sigh and a slight smile, "Yeah... Mister J is gonna be fine Rick." She said as she walked passed him as he lowered his hands away from his face. "Now get outta here..." She told him without turning around.

Ricky nodded and pulled up the rear behind the other thug's as they exited the floors beneath Wonder Tower. Batman promptly swooped down from a near by ledge with an impressed look in his eye.

"Seems to me that you actually care for these scum." Bruce said in his Batman gruff to Harley as she starred at a collection of caution tape at the far end of the room near a stack of TYGER marked shipping crates.

"No," Harley replied in a more refined tone. "I just hate to see my boys get their skulls beaten in."

Batman rolled his eyes, "Their scum, Harley, and they deserve what is coming to them."

"Their not scum." Harley snapped, "Some are, but some are just lost ya know?"

"Says the clown princess of crime." Batman replied.

"Hey! I was just as lost as they were!" Harley snapped again. "I found my way and that's to be with you! But I can't just leave the Joker to die. Even you wouldn't do such a thing and YOU KNOW IT!"

"Your still lost Harleen," Batman responded. "You wouldn't have done the things you did without stopping to think about it. Ask yourself this simple question: Why? Why did I do all this? The answer is simple, You did it on your own. Your no better than those thugs you let go."

"What's your beef B-man?" Harley asks him with a 'What the Fuck?' expression. "What happen to the Batman I knew in the Asylum, The bats I knew while you were a chasing me across the roof tops, The batsy I knew at Blackgate." Harley then turned and walked right up to Batman until she was face to face with him again.

"What happen to the Brucey who I made love to?"

Batman pushed her aside and moved toward the gate with a scorn filled expression, "You poisoned me, with that CLOWN'S blood. What do you expect from me?!" Batman responded, almost letting go of his emotions.

Harley opened her mouth to respond but stayed quiet, knowing that she was wrong and Bruce was right. But her confidence wasn't dashed completely, nor was the fight in her heart, "Yeah... I did poison you, but I'm here aren't I? I'm here to help you fix this mess and stop the Joker from letting things get to out of hand. After all I did send away the guys who were trying to get THESE out!" Harley then pointed to the TYGER marked crates.

The Dark Knight only grunted and threw her the explosive gel gun, "You know what to do." He said in a nonchalant tone as he cleared the industrial tape aside.

Harley rose her brow at the strange gun Batman gave her, but she put two and two together and turned to the TYGER crates with a wicked grin. She sprayed a series of Diamonds on the crates and followed Batman before activating the explosives and destroying the guns before they could be used on the streets of the already anarchic mega prison.

"Bats!" Harley called to Batman as she threw the gel gun back to him. "I'm surprised you even turned your back on me with that thingy."

Batman caught his tool and returned it to his belt without a response. Though he couldn't help but notice his own contradiction and scolded himself for giving her a weapon.

_'I know that tone...' _Harleen remarked for the first time in hours since Batman and Harley agreed to work together. _"He's just as divided as we are..."_

He growled at his short sighted decision and continued to give Harley the cold shoulder as they walked down a long and gigantic tunnel to the speech of a strange man speaking about our dying world. The Dark Knight realized the identity of the voice as that of his enemy, Ra's al Ghul, the immortal leader of the League of assassins. The monotone auditory seemed to go unnoticed by the Dark Knight, but Harley began to listen carefully to the voice of the man simply known as 'The Demon'. Massive doors decorated with estrange skulls and oriental dragons cluttered with cobwebs and dust, giving off the feel of a forgotten tomb in Egypt or South America. But the dust disappeared as soon as the Dark Knight activated another gadget from his plethora of toys, opening to another secure door with a warning hanging from the ceiling.

The hanging bodies above spoke volumes of their brutal leader, Ra's al Ghul, and the League of Assassins. Harley knew only the name of the League of Assassins and nothing else, but Batman knew more than she could ever hope to gather in a life time...

With a ear shattering scream of rusted metal scraping across metal echoed around them as the massive steel doors came to life to reveal an almost perfect recreation of a early 20th Century main street with a cobblestone street leading toward another massive vault door. Tubes bursting with a strange chemical ran across the streets like modern day power lines across the once civil streets above them. Humanoid like robots known as 'The Guardians' laid against the walls, in display cases, and face down in the gutters like drunken serfs or corpses of once powerful men turned to lifeless dolls. The whole of Wonder City held Harley in nothing but its name sake. The beauty of the simple, yet elegant, architecture blended heavenly with the steampunk style guardians and the advanced 'Lazarus' power tubes that covered the late 19th or early 20th Century town. Cobwebs covered the doors and homes as well as a blanket of dust from decades of abandonment.

"Wow..." Harley whispered as she slowly walked down the street, he boots clicking against the cobblestone.

"Don't lose yourself so quickly Quinn." Batman warned her as he took the lead toward the titanic steel door blocking their way toward the larger half of the underground city. "Talia's elite guard are known for their stealth. Keep on your toes."

Harley rolled her eyes and cartwheeled in front of Batman to take the lead to the door, but the cobblestone caught her foot and caused her to crash into a wall near the massive door. The crash surprisingly knocked a hole in the seemingly strong brick and mortar building.

Batman slowly picked up some pace to check on Harley, who was prompted up against wall rubbing her head, but quickly noticed the break in the wall. He gives a questionable glare at the break in the wall placing his hands on the break and to his surprise to find that it wasn't apart of the building, but a form of sheet metal covering. The detective rose the metal with his fingers until it revealed a form of lock with a large opening.

"It looks like a sword will fit here." Batman said to himself out loud.

"Thanks Bats for checking on me! I could have twisted my ankle, but luckily I'm fine and dandy!" Harley shouted pushing Batman away from the wall and getting in his face. "What kind of man do you think you are Bruce?! What kind of man doesn't have the nerve to ask when a lady in need is in need of needing!? I've had it up to here with your shit since you became all 'I'm Batman!' You've done nothin but brute and growl all night at me for nothin! I'm sorry I did you wrong and you know it, ok!? I'm sorry. I'm sorry for it all..."

Her eyes became rivers as tears steamed down her face and toward the dust covered streets of Wonder City. The tears of his Harlequin were genuine, unlike the tears that cursed him with death only hours ago. But Bruce, more or less Batman, wouldn't allow her to dig out of the hole she dug herself so easily...

Batman let out a thunderous cough that shook even Harley Quinn to the core. He fell to the ground before Harley's feet, hacking up blood on the ground and her boots. "Bruce!" Harley shouted, trying to tend to him as he coughed blood on her hands.

"I-I-I.." Bruce coughed as he tried to pick himself off the ground to resume his role as a man made of harden iron. But he was becoming to weak... The TITAN poisoning tore through his body and killing every cell in its wake as it ravaged Batman's body.

Harley's focus drew completely on Batman as she tried to bring him to his feet again. He was heavy and maybe half of that was his stubbornness to accept help from anyone around him.

"B-man..." She said in a frantic whisper as he tried to pick him off the ground with what strength she had. "BRUCE!" Harley shouted as she dropped him and ducked from the blade of an assassins sword. The sword swooped passed the top of her head and embed itself in the side of a drainage pipe on the wall. Struggling to free the sword from the gutter, Harley acted quickly and sucker punched the assassin, Knocking her away from the sword and away from Batman.

Harley unmercifully mauled the ninja in front of Batman until he gained the strength for an attempt to reach for the sword, but the force of Harley slamming the face of the ninja into wall and handle of the sword knocked it free for him as it fell on the ground before him. Harley picked up the sword and pointed the blade at the chest of the knocked out ninja with a face of pure hatred as she savored the moment before killing her.

"Harleen... Please..." Batman wheezed as he managed to pick himself up, his blood dripping from his hands as he coughed uncontrollably. "The sword..." He said as pointed to the lock.

Harley sighed and delivered a swift kick to the ninja's side as she returned to the Dark Knight with sword in hand. She places it in the lock and turns it just like a key to an apartment or home.

"Why?" Batman asked her as he tried to straighten his stance to retain his image as the Dark Knight, but he was becoming to weak solider on...

He collapsed in her arms to much of her surprise as the door opened to reveal a long catacomb stretching into total darkness. Harley was surprisingly stronger than what her appearance lead on, both physically and mentally, as she threw Batman's arm over her shoulder and began to carry him through the catacomb and away from the main street of Wonder City.

"Why what?" Harley replied as she carried her wounded Dark Knight.

"Why are you here?... Helping me?..." He asked as he began hacking and coughing violently to the point of Harley almost loosing grip on him from the jerking.

She looked down at Bruce as she dragged his nearly lifeless body through the dank catacomb. He looked tired, worn down, and almost a shadow of his former self as held on to her. His pride must have been dashed into the dirt along with his health as his once sworn enemy, turned lover, turned ad hoc ally, carried him in an attempt to try and save him without a second thought.

"Bats..." She said in a tired and caring whisper as she adjusted him on her shoulders. "You know why..."

Batman gave a dying snicker, something that she would never expect from him, "Save Joker..."

"No." Harley interjected, but her voice stayed in her Harley Quinn tone and accent. "I love you, remember? Don't cha batsy?"

"Please..." Batman said as another hurricane of blood filled coughs struck his still stone like figure.

"Don't give me that shit Bruce!" Harley snapped as Batman tried to get on his feet and away from her. "You know I do and I've always loved you! Can't cha see! Why do ya think I'm here?!"

"I- I..." Batman collapsed to the ground next to a collection of skeletons near a closed passage way. He looked over to Harley and saw a woman with glasses dressed in red top with a black skirt, black stockings, and red heals with a doctors coat. Her hair was golden blonde and tied in a bun with a slight smile on her face as she and Harley pulled him to his feet and brought him over their shoulders.

_"Bruce..."_ The woman replied as the catacombs seemed to grow longer and longer before him. _"I'm here because I love you, we love you."_

"We?..." He whispered in his normal Bruce like voice.

_"Me and Harley..."_ The woman said.

"Harleen?..."

_"Yes Bruce... It's me baby. I'm here for you..."_ She replied joyfully with a white tooth smile.

"Where?.. Where did you go?.." He asked in a death filled tone.

_"I'm still here, I've always been here. Both of us have... Both me and Harley..."_ She replied with a sniffle.

"But Harley is... Is Jokers..."

_"She may be, but Joker is... Is... His time is coming... And so might yours Bruce."_ Harleen replied as she and Harley stopped and placed him against a wall. Harleen got on her knees and removed his mask to see his TITAN scared face. His eyes looked ragged, tired, and dying just like the rest of his body. The ocean like eyes of Harleen began to rain tears as she caressed his scared face, unceasingly mouthing 'I'm sorry' as she looked into his eyes.

To Bruce this was the first time Harleen ever saw him without his mask, with his knowledge, and for the first time in years he felt shame. He left her because he knew that if anyone knew that Bruce Wayne had a lover that his enemies would use her as leverage against him, the same reason why he never settled down as Batman. Bruce Wayne and Batman are two big to fall in any respects and both ego's knew it. They were everything a man wished to be, Handsome, strong, charismatic, intelligent, wealthy, the strength of will, and not to mention the affection of almost every woman he laid his eyes on.

But even the might Goliath was defeated by some as small as David.

His David, his Achilles heal, his weakness some one emotion. An emotion that has driven men throughout the ages to success and ruin.

_Love..._

"I... I..." Bruce wheezed as he tired to savior every ounce of oxygen left in his cancer filled body. "I can't be... Be seen..." he said as he tried to pull the cowl back over his face, but Harleen forced it back from him.

_"Bruce, Stop fighting it. I don't want you doing this, not like this."_ She plead. _"I have to get you to outta here before J and youse kills each other."_

"No!" Bruce shout in his Batman gruff as Harleen turned back into Harley before his eyes. "I can't run away from it! I can't run from Gotham and I can't" A thunderous cough ripped through his body as he leaped to his feet for what it seemed to be the last time.

"Gotham will be fine Bruce!" Harley exploded, "Your the one in danger and if you die, then who's gonna be here save these people?" Her voice shift to a quieter and more sincere tone as she got closer to his pale face, her hands placed on his shoulders to stop him from going on.

"Who's gonna be there when a mugga is muggin a lady and her kids? Who's gonna be there when one of those nutzos tries to hold Gotham by the throat? Who's gonna be there when it all ends? Who's gonna be there, Bruce?..."

Harley's tear streaked face drew so close to the pale and scar covered mug of Bruce Wayne until they were only an inch away from each other. "Who's gonna be there when I'm ready to give this life away and start over? Who's gonna be there when you need saving?... Who Bruce?"

Her lips pressed against his in a gentle fashion as her tears dripped on Bruce's blood stained and torn suit. But she broke off quickly with a gasp as his lips slowly began to turn blue. She rushed to throw his arm back over his shoulder to get him to the nearest exit and to much of her luck there in the distance was a manhole leading out of the catacombs.

Harley limped the dying Batman as fast as she could, praying that it was unlocked, until finally reaching the latter up to the manhole cover with a sigh of relieve to see the cover only covering half of the hole. She pushed him up the latter first and continued shoving him up the latter until finally reaching a large abandon street of old Gotham laying right under the heart of Arkham City.

A dead city under a dying and corrupt city nearing the end of its days... Empty shells of old buildings and businesses standing in a state of decay and covered in cobwebs and dust.

Surrounded by death at all corners, Harley tried to carry Batman toward a large iron gate and away from the dead city. "Bruce... Bruce... Bruce!" Harley called to him as his head faced the gate.

"I see... I see things... I think I see someone..." Batman whispered as blood dripped out of his blue lips.

"Who Bats? I don't see no one." Harley replied as she struggled to carry him.

"Mom... Dad... I see them... Their calling me home..." He replied with a dark chuckle of a dying man seeing the face of death himself. "Can't greet you today... Not today... I have a mission..."

Harley gave a dark snicker, "You're not leaving me Brucey, Not here. Not now. Not ever..."

The massive door swung open behind them as Harley continued to carry him until finally collapsing from lack of energy. She held him against her as his final moments seemed to pass like sand in an hour glass. She cussed and raved as tear fell down her face, running mascara down her face until long black streaks broke through her white face paint. Everything around her seemed to collapse around her, Joker is dying and now Batman is dying in her arms...

A strong hand pulled her hair back and heavy sword drew across her neck. "You shouldn't have came here, You have no friends here." The strong voice of the ninja told her as the blade graced her throat.

"Stop!" The erotic voice of Talia al Ghul ordered to the Ninja who instantly sheathed her sword and jumped to attention. She gazed down with contempt at the blonde clown weeping in front of her. But soon her eyes lit up as she saw her beloved Bruce laying her arms. With a swift swipe from her elegant hands she smacked Harley Quinn to the ground and took off the cowl to see his distorted face.

"Beloved..." She gasped as she pulled the cowl back over his face and cast a jaundice toward Harley Quinn. "What is the meaning of this? What have you done to him! Speak!" Talia demanded as her Elite Guard drew their swords and closed in on Harley.

"Talia..." Batman grunted as he managed to get to his feet. "Let her go..."

"Bruce!" Talia and Harley gasped at the sight of Bruce staggering to his feet.

"Let her go... She's with me..." Bruce repeated firmly to much of Harley's surprise and Talia's dismay.


	9. Chapter 8: Comrade Enemy

**_Sorry everyone for taking so long! Time has been a little short lately and since GERMANY WON THE WORLD CUP  It called for a celebration the likes the USA had ever seen! Thank you for another 1000 views on Part 1 and the near 1000 on Part 2. Thank you Bat-dom for all your support and favorites :) _**

**_Please leave a review for either Part 1 or 2, I feel the love, but we all need a little criticism here and there._**

**_With Love ~Dresner_**

* * *

_**Across Arkham City, Mad Hatter's quarters**_

Hans threw Jervis, AKA Mad Hatter, across the blood and tea covered table with his gloved hand. The small Jervis Tetch slid across the table like a hockey puck in the finally moments of a hockey game, crashing into the wall near the door where he was picked up by Diesel, slammed against the wall, and tossed to the ground by the exoskeleton clad older brother of his newest 'Alice', Erika.

Erika was bound in a chair wearing an Alice in wonderland dress that revealed more than what the story book intended for. Hans marched over to her and cut the restraints with the sharpen edges of his trench shovel, freeing her and her rage onto the perverted Mad Matter.

Jervis Tetch was known for his twisted little foreplay in the form of psychoactive tea and mind numbing masks that turned his victim into nothing more than zombies in the lightest of terms. But for his 'Alice' he would much rather lightly drug them, have his sick fun, and leave them in a ditch after he lost interest in them. Erika was perfect for the role of Alice...

Blonde haired, blue eyed, beautiful figure, and a fierce spirit that would keep the twisted little man as much pleasure as he wanted. But the hard hobnail studs of Hans jackboots shattered all his sick wet dreams as well as his jaw before the scantily clad Erika drove the back end of her high heel into the center of his hand pining it to the floor.

Hatter screamed at the top of his lungs as she twisted the heel into his hand in revenge for his little game of make believe. "Pig!" She shouted, spitting on his face and leaving the heel buried in his hand.

"Go put on something warm," Hans snorted. "That little garb does you as much good as concrete shoes."

Erika nodded but burred the other heel in Jervis hand before abandoning the shoes altogether to retrieve her cloths or what was left of them after her transfer from Cobblepot to Tetch. Leaving the Mad Hatter to the hands of her vengeful brothers...

Hans kicked the heels out of Tetch's palms and took him by throat to eye level. The small man of only five foot five inches was lifted well off his feet by the 6'6 Hans with a angry death grip on his wind pipe. He could only see his reflection in the lens of the gas mask, seeing the fear in his own eyes drove the already delusional schizophrenic passed his mental and emotional boiling point.

"Jervis Tetch," Hans announced in the thick and modulated voice of his gas mask. "Mad Hatter... Prolific rapist, Murderer, master of mind control, and a... Child molester... A once obscure inventor, now famous for the bodies of young women and even children he leaves in the gutters and crevices of Gotham city..." Hans shook his head as grip loosen on neck of the child molester.

"Alice... Where is my Alice?" Jervis asked in a fearful tone of child.

"Alice?..." Diesel asked him in the same distorted voice of his brother. He looked over to Hans and questioned him in German on who was Alice.

Hans only replied, "Play along." as he turned his attention back to Jervis.

"Alice is not here, Hatter." Hans replied as he looked over to his brother with a nod. "But we know where she is."

The eyes of the pedophile lite up like a child at a Christmas tree gazing at the bounty of gifts before him. "You know where my Alice is? Oh please tell me! Oh please! Oh please! Oh please!"

Hans and Diesel chuckled at the high and whiny voice of the Mad Hatter as squirmed with delight over their lie. "Calm yourself, little man, and we'll consider it." Diesel told him.  
"Ja, But first we need something in return..." Hans said as he dropped the tiny man to the ground and knelled down to him. "These hats of yours... This drug you use... Where did you get them? Guns and contraband come from the hands of the Penguin. Did he give them to you? Or was it this 'Demon'?"

Jervis struggled in his hand once more and cried out for 'Alice' to much of Hans and Diesel's annoyance. Hans tossed the little man on to the table, breaking it in two, and found himself laying against the bodies of his rabbit masked victims. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh heavens no! The little bird did not give me such things, but a Doctor, yes, a very kind doctor who brought me many friends to my party! Even Alice..." He remarked in a gleeful tone as he said the name of Alice. "Where is she? Alice? Alice!"

"Damn idiot..." Diesel snorted. "More damn Doctors. I hate Doctors."

"Hmmm a Doctor you say?" Hans said intrigued. "Doctor who?"

"Alice! Where is she?" Jervis asked, ignoring Hans completely. To which Hans replied by striking him with his fists, he never liked being ignored.

"FOCUS!" Hans shouted as he threw him across the room once again, cracking the wall as Jervis hit the floor knocking off his top hat.. "What is his name?!"

"He promised me Alice and she's missing! Oh that wicked girl!" Jervis replied as searched the floor for his hat. His top hat laid on its side toward Hans tall and shiny boots. Like a rat, Jervis scurried across the floor on his stomach to retrieve his beloved top hat only to be met by the barrel of Hans personal nickle plated Mauser pistol that he retrieve from Cobblepot.

The lonely heart of Jervis Tetch sank to the pit of his stomach as the nickle plated Mauser loomed in his face in the pale light of the moon and the fires that burned unchecked across Arkham City. The light shined on the black coat, but the light seemed to die as it touched his seemingly flawless figure. The smell of blood filled the air as a calm winters wind came through the open window. Drawing Jervis's eyes toward the base of the coat as the sound of dripping caught his attention. Little red droplets fell from the base of the coat and on to the floor before him. He wanted to close his eyes and drift back into madness, but fear nailed his eyes open as he gazed up toward the face of his tormentor. With one hand on the heavy framed pistol, Hans free hand was removing his gas mask.

He slowly removed his mask to reveal his identity to Jervis...

"You..." Jervis replied in a fearful whisper as he realized who 'Hans' really was.

"Ah yes... You remember me..." Hans replied with a ominous and happy whisper as he pulled the hammer back on his pistol. "Wonderful... Now that we... Know each other... Who. Is. This. Doctor, you speak off..."

"You... You... Bring... Bring... Alice?..." Jervis began to sob as he stared into the cold eyes of 'Hans' as he gave a sigh before kneeling down to the fear stricken pedophile.

"No Hatter..." 'Hans' whispered into Jervis ear. "I bring death."

"Strange... His name is Strange." Jervis replied in a faint whisper.

"Ahhh , The great and powerful Hugo Strange eh?" Hans replied with a sadistic smile. "And I thought he went strayed away from trash like yourself after our time in 'The Order'. Hmmmm..."

'Hans' then removed the pistol Jervis face and returned it to his holster. "Thank you Dr. Tetch," He said in a polite tone. "I hope the next time that we meet it won't be under such morbid terms. But I must warn you, If you take my sister for one of your 'Tea parties' I'll personally come back for you. Are we clear?"

Jervis said nothing as the face of 'Hans' brought back memories of shear terror rivaling even that of Batman. He only picked up his hat shivering hands and placed it on his bald head before turning around to his mangled and maimed tea. A broken smile appears on his face as he retrieves a tray with chipped tea cups and a tea kettle still full with warm tea. The Mad Hatter takes the tray and turned to Hans and Diesel with his crooked smile as if everything that transpired never happened.

"I do apologize dear fellows," Jervis said in a polite and cheery tone. "It seems my guests are enjoy themselves to much this evening! I do wish Alice was here to joy us, but that doesn't mean you have to wait like they! Please enjoy some of my special tea. It's my specialty..."

Hans only gazed at him with contempt as he picked up the cup and took in the smell of the fresh tea. His eyes opened widely as he sat the cup back down on the tray. He made a swift about face and stormed out of the door with a confused Diesel behind him. Leaving Jervis alone in a room full of fresh corpses.

"Alice?" He called out as the door slammed behind the trio as they returned to the chaos of Arkham city.

"What did that whack job say Hans?" Diesel asked him as drew his .45-70 BFR's for the long and dangerous trip through Arkham City.

Hans didn't respond and looked up into the dark winter sky to see the winged figure of Batman soaring across the night sky with Harley Quinn leaping from roof top to roof top toward the old Gotham police department station at the edge of the flooded city. He gave a dark smile as he reached into his coat to retrieve a sliver cigarette case with a large Iron Cross with Oak leaves engraved on its front. He pulled a cigarette out of the case and began lite the smooth blended tobacco.

It was the first cigarette he had in years and it was just perfect...

The demon weed and Hans had a history with one another, as did himself and Batman. It was years ago, Batman's second year of activity, when he was hunting Bane and the mysterious Copperhead did he ever come in contact with the Dark Knight. He wasn't 'Hans' then, but a different man.

A Man looking for answers...

A Man hungry for a fight...

A Man thirsty for vengeance for the death of his fallen fiancee...  
A Man who had nothing left to loose...

He blew the smoke out of his nose and turned to see Erika staring at him with a angry red face to see him smoking again. She wore her regular merc gear with the exception of a Black M-43 cap with Deathshead insignia. Hans traded his peaked cap for the M43 and leaped off into the distance after Batman without a word said.

His brother and sister watched in horror as they realized that their worse nightmare was coming into reality.

"He's back..." Erika whispered in fear as she took her Krinkov off her back and ran after her brother, fearful that his other side had returned.

* * *

_**Moments Later, GCPD Station-**_

With Ra's blood, Freeze finished his cure for Jokers aliment with just enough for two douses. One for Joker and one for Batman.

Harley couldn't contain the joy that filled her heart as 'The Snowman', as she called him, took the containers and placed them into a safe for safe keeping. But he removed one vile and held it in his hand in front of herself and Batman after he locked the safe.

"How are you feeling? You look... Unwell." Victor Freeze remarked with cold compassion to the Dark Knight.

Batman ignored his cold remarks and reached out his hand, "Give it to me." He demanded.

"I'm afraid I can not do that Batman." Freeze replied as he crushed the vile in his hand. "You have given me your last order."

"Hey! That stuff was for my man snowman!" Harley snapped at Freeze who pointed his freeze ray at her.

"You and the clown have my wife..." Freeze snapped back as his suit change into combat mode, his voice changing to a more robotic and calculating monotone and his goggles changing to a dark red as the harden visor came over his helmet. "Bring her back to me."

Harley spat on Freeze's exoskeleton freezing instantly against his armor. He rose his ray gun to Harley's clown painted face charging with anticipation.

Batman saw his opportunity to snatch the cure, but also someone in danger. That someone being Harley Quinn...

The night had taken a told on him, in more ways than one. His mind was near the breaking point, His body was being devoured from the inside, and his heart and soul were divided among his Harlequin. Was she evil? Or was she just lost, just like Selena?

Or maybe she was returning the favor in his final moments after years of him aiding her...

And the year of happiness he brought to her before the Joker's condition became critical...

Maybe it was all just a desperate game to save the two men in her life that brought her so much joy, pain, sorrow, and suspense in her life. But the question still remained, could he trust her?

Then it hit him... She saved him...

Without a second thought he leaped forward to tackle Victor Fries to the ground before he could unleash a burst of revenge on his Harlequin for taking his beloved from him.

But a gun shot from a High Caliber handgun destroyed the estrange cannon into frozen pieces of metal and a puddle of liquid nitrogen. Victor turned toward the door to see the dark cloaked figure of Hans holding Long Barreled Desert Eagle in his hands and a freshly spent .44 Special casing smoking on the ground at his feet. With in a second of being spotted Hans charged toward Freeze and slammed him to the ground to temporarily disable his suit.

"YOU!" Harley shouted to Hans, to which he responded by turning quickly on his heals and firing his Eagles at the Jester. Harley flipped away from him as his bullets flew past her and Batman. The heavy slugs obliterated the electronic lock and the ice behind them. Batman threw his trade mark batarangs at him from across the room, but Hans proved to be more competent than he expected and shot the rangs out of the air with ease. Batman retreated with Harley toward the other side of the room as Hans dropped the empty magazines out of his heavy guns and quickly reloaded another pair of fresh round of .44 magazines into his custom D-Eagles.

But before Hans could continue his assault, Mr. Freeze threw two strange grenade like tubes at him and froze his guns in place rendering them completely useless. Leaving a brief window for Batman to launch himself from the rails to tackle Hans to the ground. Hans saw the Bat lung toward him from across the room and he responded by charging him to get in close so he couldn't use his gear against him. The two titans collided in a melee of fists until forcing each other from their grasps leaving enough room for Batman to throw three batarangs in quick succession, only to be blocked by Hans and his trench spade. Hans threw his sharpen spade like a throwing axe toward the Dark Knight in hopes of knocking him out or killing him. But the Dark Knight caught the shade by the handle and threw it back at Hans.

The spade circled toward Hans menacingly, but it did not phase him as he drew his nickle plated Mauser and shot the spade out of the sky just like the batarangs.

"It seems we're evenly matched..." Hans remarked as he dived to the ground as another barrage of Freeze's grenades flew toward. Hitting the ground he fired three shots at Victor Fries suits arm and leg motors, rendering him unable to impede on Hans attacks or harm Batman and Harley. After mobility killing Freeze, Hans turned his attention back to the Dark Knight.

'His use of firearms is incredible, almost that of Deadshot's level.' Bruce thought as he stared down the Black coated and masked man that was Hans.

"You fight well, Dark Knight." Hans said with respect. "It's a shame your losing time on this beautiful winters night. But destiny waits for no man, even if death is calling for them."

Batman says nothing and draws his Batclaw to disarm the black coated Hans and level the playing fields. But Hans was quick and shot the claw out of his hand before he could react to his reflexes.

'I know this fighting style... It screams the name of Slade...' Bruce remarked as Hans holstered his glamorous side arm and charged toward him. 'Calm and calculating... Every blow, block, and kick enacted without hesitation and with the up most accuracy... Who is this?'

"Slade trained you, as well as Deadshot." Batman said as he took a fighting stance.

"Slade improved me, but Deadshot?" Hans replied as he took another stance. "He only helped me and my brother pick out our heavier arms."

With that remark he quickly pounced on Batman and delivered a devastating beat down until the tables were turned by Batman's shock gloves, short out Hans suit for a few direr moments. But Hans wasn't as easily beaten...

He grabbed the shock gloves by the knuckles and took all ten thousand volts into his body like a lightening rod until the gloves shorted out, shooting both the determined warriors away from each other and crashing into the ice covered walls of the GCPD building.

Harley, who was hiding behind a collection of computers, gazed from behind a monitor to see Batman and Hans laying against opposing walls tired and drained from their battle. She looked over to Batman, then Freeze, Hans, and finally the safe. The door was open with the only remaining vile of cure in existence sitting in the ice cold safe...

In that vile held the lives of hundreds of men, women, and children who were cursed with the Jokers infected blood...

But that did not matter to the Harlequin, as only two lives meant anything to her.

In the vile held the lives of her Clown prince of crime and her Dark Knight... The two people who dominated her life more than her own hopes and dreams ever could.

'Please be alright Bruce...' Harleen whispered as she looked over toward Batman as he slowly began to lurch to life only to be met by the hard hobnail heel of Hans boot against his chest. She looked back to the safe and back to Hans... A old and crumpled piece of paper fell in front of her face as well as a pen. Another quick glance at Bruce and Hans made her take the paper and began writing frantically. She quickly folded the paper and quickly stuffed it in her bra.  
"I'm sorry..." Harley said as she made a quiet dash toward the open safe.

"Slade was right about you being tough, but you've gotten tamer over the last few years since the joker made his existence known. But your stronger than either I or Slade could have imagined." Hans said as pressed harder on Batman's chest. "You were quick to jump Sharp when he was brought into this hell. Hanging him upside down from atop a ten story building makes a man really think where his loyalty are, I'll give you that, but, He has, or rather had, his hand in this pie. Though it may have been just the crust, Ol' Sharpie had his hand in some deep and distributing acts of brutality back in the Asylum. He may have been the face to this plan, but we both know he's to slow to build this monument to utter brutality and the nature of animals. And we both know who started this..."

Hans stepped off of the Dark Knight chest and turned toward the safe. "It's amazing how one man can effect the course history and how that man can make so many enemies with the same will. That's the one power you do have Batman, The power of will. But will can only get you so far..."

"As does trusting someone like Harley Quinn. Seems your Comrade is now your enemy, Batman." Hans said with a contemptuous tone at the sight of an empty safe with a small note marked 'Bruce' and a black and red kiss. He didn't open the note, it would have been rude of a gentleman such as himself to do so, but stuffing it into his coat was another matter on its own.

"Seems your running out of time, old friend. May the gods be with you." Hans said as he took his STG-44 off his back and opened fire on the ice wall, shattering it to pieces to make his exit. But before leaving him, he removed his gas mask and tossed it behind his back before rushing into the darkness of the GCPD building.

Batman took to his feet and dusted off the dirt and snow from Hans boot. He gave a dark snarl as he approached Mr. Freeze as he to recovered from the attack by the Black coated Mercenary.

"He knew... He knew where my servos were located..." Freeze said in astonishment as he managed to get his servos and actuators on his suit back in working order.

Batman only groaned as Freeze got to his feet. He turned to the safe to see nothing but an empty rack where the cure use to be. "So close..." He thought to himself as he gazed into the empty safe.

"That man nearly had you." Freeze told him in his cold monotone. "From what I could understand, you and 'Hans' have history?"

"Not that I remember." Batman remarked as he snapped back into reality.

"You and Ms. Quinzel seem to be in rather 'friendly' respects." Freeze said as he ran a scan on his suit. "But it seems those are no more. From what I saw she took the cure and, from my thermal scans show, returning to the steel mill."

Batman grunted darkly as the hard and metallic feel of betrayal cut through his body like knife through his stomach and back.

She left him to die... So she could save that clown...

"Why Harleen?..." He said under his breath as he turned away from Freeze and began to walk toward the door, crushing the gas mask with his boot in anger.

"My scans show 'Hans' is following her." Freeze said as he put his hand on Batman's shoulder. "Don't give up Batman."

Batman shrugged Freeze's hand off his shoulder and charged out the door without another word to Freeze. Freeze let out a sigh and turned to one of the many statues of his wife Nora. "Never give up on the one you love Batman. I never will..."

As he exited the old GCPD building the frantic calls of help hang through his cowl as the news of Vicky Vale's crash landing in Arkham, Courtesy of the Joker and a S.A.M Missile given to him by Hugo Strange.

"I say again this is Vicky Vale! I am begin attack by Snipers on the old Gotham Highwa-" Vicky's voice was cut off by the sound of heavy automatic fire and the screams of men, making Batman rush into the fray once more as he took out his grapple and shot into the sky toward the sounds of havoc.

Catapulting into the sky she could see the black figure of Hans unleashing a hurricane of death with his rifle and pistol upon the Joker's snipers before leaping to save Vicky Vale from the chaos of Arkham City.

"What the-" Vicky said as her phone was muscled from her by the dark coated figure.

"Consider this a favor, Dark Knight. I want you in your prime the next time we fight, Fighting a dead man isn't fun without a fight." Hans said as he handed the phone back to Vicky and stormed off toward the Steel mill with Batman in hot pursuit.


	10. Chapter 9: A Secret

**_Once again, my time, and internet, is slipping a little so updating will be in a five to six day span depending if the internet is working. _**

**_So in this chapter we begin to see who my OC, 'Hans' really is. Any of those who are a fan of my writing have already figured it out. But then we go to a Barley (Batman & Harley) bit. For those who play Arkham City, you'll remember this as when you find Harley tied up and gagged. _**

**_Thank you all for giving me your views and please remember to fav, follow, review, or all three, on Part 2 and Part 1. It's a huge boast to see a review or a fav to my work :) It also makes me want to write a Part 3 or a Prequel in Arkham Origins. (Still deciding, on the latter but a Part 3 might coming once I finish Part 2.) _**

**_With Love~ Dresner_**

* * *

**_Gates of the Steel Mill-_**

Hans stood near the bridge that acted as the gate to Joker's Fun house, Otherwise known as the Sioius Steel Mill. The mill was decaying rapidly after years of neglect after Black Mask lost it in a class action law suit with the city of Gotham after an investigation lead by Commissioner Gordon and infiltration by Batman found a gigantic illegal narcotics production facility hidden under the mill. The Steel Mill then went into the hands of the City of Gotham and thus was left to rot in the slums like the rest of old Gotham.

After the Joker's take over of the mill months ago, The condition of the mill became worse and was soon decorated with equally decaying and depraved clown masks and carnival themed decorations. The addition of clown masked guards toting the latest in Western Military hardware, unquenchable blood lust, and enough drugs to keep the whole state of California 'hopped up' for a decade, Only made the Steel Mill more of a daunting structure to topple for the veteran fighter.

Even with his extensive training by Slade Wilson after the death of his soon to be wife, not to mention his past experiences as a mercenary and field officer, Hans was under prepared for the battle that laid before him, but his will was ready for anything, unlike his brother and sister...

Rejoining him was his Brother, Diesel, and Sister, Erika, from the trip across the old and destroyed Gotham Freeway and housing blocks to link up and scold him for running off once again. It was a habit that near killed him in North Korea. Where ever they maybe be sent, Hans always seemed to disappear

"The fuck Hans!?" Erika shouted at him with her Krinkov in hand. "Running off in Arkham is like saying your Christian in Gaza! You could have gotten killed! We almost lost you in Korea and I'm not loosing you in Arkham! We have to get Sean, Allen, and Astor out of here before things get worse!"

Hans shrugged off her whining and looked over to his brother, "We were fine before we brought you into our world and we'll always be fine. Quit worrying so much. But I could expect that from a coward."

Erika dropped her gun and slapped him across the face, Hard...

"I'm not a fucking coward! I wouldn't have gone gallivanting across half the fucking earth with you and Diesel if I was! Who the fuck do you think you are? I don't know what the hell happen to you when that bitch, Wendy, sent me away, but you and R-" Erika's mouth was clapped shut by Hans hand.

"Shhhh-" He told her as he tried to contain himself from ripping her head off. "Things happen to me and 'Diesel' when you were gone. But we were fine then and we are fine now. Keep to the names I gave you two and nothing bad will happen to us, or at least you two. You know the deal we had in Metropolis after THEY killed my beloved... Salt the earth and start a new... Is that what you said, yes?" His whisper turned into a dark hiss as Erika looked into her brothers darkening eyes. This wasn't the older brother she grew up, The brother that would take her to school when Dad or 'Diesel' was to drunk to drive, The brother that gave her a home before Wendy destroyed it all, This wasn't the brother who spend years looking for her after their stepmother sent her away to boarding school.

This was the 'darkness', he would speak about, shutting her up. This was the beast in him... Coming out into the open for all the world to see...

Erika broke loose from his grip and slapped him two more times across the face. "Who the fuck do you think you are? I know your still torn up about D-"

Hans hit Erika with the stock of the Sturmgewehr, knocking her down to the ice covered pavement, and drew his sights on Diesel before he could react. "You two just need to calm down and realize that I have my reasons for doing what I am doing... Don't think for a moment that you can change this, Because if you do I will personally send you to whatever god your wish." Hans hissed as his finger gripped tightly around the trigger of the old rifle.

Diesel took his gas mask and helmet off to reveal his face to his brother in hope of reminding him who he was threatening. He rose his hands into the air, "Karl... It's me... It's Roddy... Your brother... What happen to you?... Where have you gone?..." He whispered, shedding the pseudonym of Diesel for his nickname. "We're your family... That's your sister, Shelia, and I'm your brother... Rodrick... Don't you remember?"

Hans only let out a light breath as he clicked off the safety, "I have no family..."

* * *

Erika regained some of her baring and looked up to see her brother holding Diesel at gun point. But to her horror, Hans pulled the trigger...

Diesel's body feel to the ground, his head ripped to pieces like a watermelon by the heavy round of the rifle. Hans looked down to his sister with the rifle clutched in his hand and a expression of cold and unfeeling disgust on his face, along with the blood of his own brother on his brow.

Erika shouted in rage as she reached for her side arm, another old C96 Mauser, to kill her brother in retribution for the murder of her older brother. But as she drew the pistol Hans kicked it out of her hands and struck her with the stock of his Sturmgewehr.

Few moments later...

She awoke in a daze moments later with her hands bound with wire and gagged with a towel in front of her sitting on a ledge off the side of the Gotham freeway. Hans stood smoking a cigarette with her Mauser in his hand, STG on his back, and a wicked smirk on his face as he blew a cloud of smoke in her face.

"If prisoners impede the advance they are not to be taken." Hans told her as he stuffed the blacken Mauser pistol into his belt. "It was a rule that I happily broke when ever possible..." He took another deep puff from the cigarette and exhaled it slowly, savoring the flavor and the aroma of Marlboro cigarettes combined with the metallic odor of smelting steel and gunpowder.

"Do you remember the time when we were in Korea, During the second Korean war a few years back?" He asked as he bent over to tighten the wires around her wrists. "Of course you do... Do you remember the Regiment I took hold of after the fall of Seoul?"

He threw his hands on her hips and looked into her eyes with a slight chuckle and a grin, "Of course you do!..." He whispered with stark glee.

"After I took over the regiment," Hans explained as he took his hands off her hips. "I ordered a counter attack against the North Korean rear devastating their line of supple for the 3rd Shock Army... Crippling their ability to supply their own men with even the basic needs of survival as well as destroying the Anti-Air defenses and allowing the Americans to do as they pleased in the air with impunity... They fought well, almost as good as my old Panzergrenadiers of the Iron Guard did, Gave no quarter to those dogs..."

His voice changed to a dark whisper as he remembered a dark day in his life, "Five days after my attack, the 3rd Shock Army was reduced to a meager division. A... Blockade unit of North Korean troops, used to keep the unruly penal troops of the Gulag battalions in line, was one of the many units attached to the 3rd Shock army, or shall I say its remains, during the invasion. It was my unit who took the blockade unit official surrender, another unwelcome surprise to the top brass in the South Korean and US Armies, and were officially disarmed by my Regiment. But after my departure from the country, Thanks to Amanda Waller of the CIA, came just in time as an American recon detachment found piles of dead North Korean Commissars laying in a bloody rice paddy close to a pile of rifles and small arms, Their small arms. Hehe..."

A dark chuckle and smile sent Erika's skin crawling as her brother took another hit off his cigarette, "Waller always told me to 'Finish the mission by any means necessary' my Mission then was to stop the 3rd Shock Army, and I did... Then my plane was shot down by a MiG-29 over the former DMZ... Or was it a 21? Or a 23? I don't know... But you know the rest of the story, I'm sure dear Rodrick told you of his daring exploits that near killed the both of us and his undercover work for that beast of a woman Waller, one of the reasons why I killed him, should have did the deed sometime before hand, but I'm digressing... Taking prisoners impeded the advance and it was the only way to keep going toward the boarder, to end the war. But then Task Force X ended the war for them and had just enough time to break me out of the Gulag... And gave me new life as 'Hans'..."

His voice changed from terrifying to harsh and calculating with in an instant as he threw his hands on her shoulders, "You and Rodrick were a liability, just like those murderers I left in that rice patty, Just like my soon to be wife... Liabilities that impeded my goal. Hmmm, Make you wonder if I should thank the murderer... But I digress once again, My goal is so close that I can taste it and I'm not letting some coward stop me from getting what I came here for. The funny thing is that Coldwater never sent US here, I sent us here. Why do you think I wanted to work with the Joker? Why do you think I wanted to come to Arkham? Why do you think I do what I DO?"

Hans took his hands off of her and turned his back to gaze at the deformed fun house in the distance. "Simple really: Nothing else matters."

Hans turned with Mauser in hand and shot Erika directly in the stomach, The shot having enough energy to knock her off the ledge and into the icy waters of the old Gotham harbor. He took a deep breath and looked down to the body of his brother with a slight frown before snorting, "Nothing else matters."

With contempt in his heart he took to the steel mill... "Nothing else matters." He told himself as he marched on like a plague to reek havoc and destruction upon the wretched souls of Joker's hoard.

* * *

_**Inside the Steel Mill-**_

Batman followed the hand painted arrows leading to the Joker's loft where this all began only hours before. After crossing through the cooling tunnels under the steel mill, taking out a legion of guards, and finding more of Mr. Freeze's gear for his personal arsenal. Batman soon changed his path as the sight of armored Joker thugs lining up three familiar faces against a wall with itchy trigger fingers.

"On the wall!" One shouted to Sean, The Irish Sniper, as he shoved him forward with his Spas-12 as three more armored thugs with AKM's lined Astor, The french medic, and Allen, The Afrikaner support troop, against a wall near a large locked door.

"God in heaven you sound like your mum when I was fucking her in your papa's Laundry room!" Sean shouted back with evil laugh as he spat on the crazy clown masked fool. "Oh the heavens was she a beast of a woman!"

The thug struck him with the side of the Spas, but Sean continued on, to much to the enjoyment of the others and the dismay of the thug. "OH WAS SHE LARGE! Larger than croc! No, Larger than Bane! With rolls of fat that would make the rocky mountains look like piles of dung!"

"SHUT UP FREAK!" The thug shouted as he kicked Sean in the ribs, but the Irish man kept on.

"Oooh that smell though! God did she reek of the sea! I thought I was a fisherman for a moment when I POUNDING HER LIKE A SNARE DRUM!"

"Thats it!" The thug yelled as he pointed his shotgun at Sean to shut him up, But a batarang knocked the gun out of his hands and gained the attention of the thugs long enough for the Mercenaries to rush them, take their weapons, and turn the tables on them. Sean swept the legs of the irate thug as he took the shotgun off the ground and placed it to his head, "Don't move beer boy." He told him as pressed it against his head as Batman came out of the shadows to retrieve his Batarang.

"So your the bloody header himself, Batman right?" Sean asked as the Dark Knight looked over to him and his mates as they held the Thugs at gun point. "I'll take that as a yes. You hear from those jammy jerries and that juicy bird Erika?"

Batman said nothing as the muffled cries of a woman echoed around him. "Do you hear that?" Batman asked the cheeky Irishman.

"Oh thank you Batman for saving our arses. 'Oh no problem Sean, you had it all along your devilishly handsome bastard!' Your to kind Batman, now we best be getting our arses out of this slaughter house before that nutty scrubber Harley Quinn comes back to ruff us up again. What the best course of action? 'Simple! You fly the fuck outta here!' Snobby Weather..." Sean droned on sarcastically as he went on with himself to much of Allen's enjoyment.

Astor rolled his eyes listened for a moment and he agreed with the Dark Knight, "Sounds like a woman. American." Astor told him.

'Harleen...' Bruce thought to himself. 'We have to find her...'

"Why should I?" Batman asked his alter ego. "She poisoned us and took the cure back to Joker. I should have never allowed you to convenes me to take her with us across Arkham."

'I doesn't matter!' Bruce exclaimed, 'You know why she did it, to save the Joker. We can't let anyone die, No matter who they are. We save people, not kill them or leave them to die.'

Batman groaned, vexed that he was defeated by himself in a battle of morals. But he couldn't help but wonder, why did she do it? What compelled her to run off back to the Joker with the cure? Was it just to save her tormentor? Or did Harleen have a hand in this?

The dual personalities of Batman and Bruce acknowledged the duality of Harleen and Harley. Both sides fought for different reasons, unlike Bruce and Batman. One fought for the Joker and his approval, while the other fought to regain her life...

Maybe this was Harley taking back control?

He shook his head and focused on Sean, "You three need to get out of here. The cooling chamber has a tunnel leading to the subway system, You might be able to find a way back into Gotham."

"That sounds safe," Allen remarked as he took the bullet proof vest off of a Joker thug and adjusted his slouch hat. "Why not we just cross the open city naked with spoons?"

"The metro leads to the sewer through maintenance tunnels and the man made tunnels constructed by Le Clown..." Astor remarked as he preformed an ammo check on his AK.

"Say again?" Batman asked the Frenchman.

"_Le Clown_, Joker as you call him, told me of his tunnel network during my time as his indentured servant." Astor explained as he pulled a coffee and blood stained map out of his boot and handed it to Batman. "The network is very crude, but a few tunnels lead right under the TYGER command compound. My apologize for the state of Le map, The Joker and his brutes were not kind to me or the keeping of their cave."

Batman rolled up the map and handed it back to the Frenchman, "Use it and get out of here. If you find any political prisoners, take them with you."

Sean chuckled, "You sound just like Hans!"

Batman ignored the laughing Irishman and proceeded deeper into the Steel Mill to find the Joker and his cure. He tried to block her out of his mind as he walked on through the endless corridors and clown paintings. Every room or so, he came across mannequin of Harley Quinn in her old jester costume holding a balloon with 'Mr. J' written on it. He tried to ignore them and the tacky writing on the balloons, but as the mannequin and pictures of the Joker littered with kisses became more and more frequent as he drew closer and closer toward the loft. A neared a room with a sniper had made his home as he awaited for him, But Batman was sharper than the amateur sniper and knocked him out without an issue. But in the far corner stood another Harley Quinn mannequin with a large grin on it's face with the bulb inside of the balloon flickering insistently.

The flickering annoyed him beyond all forms pushing his anger to a breaking point, to which he ran toward the mannequin and ripped the balloon clean off the figure. Sparks flew from the wiring and danced around his gloves as he crushed in his armored hand. The wiring fried the rest of the statue, just like the cancer inside of his own body, and reached the PA/Voice recorder causing the recording of Harley Quinn to skip and finally stuck on a phrase "And I'll tell my Joker..." but after a couple of runs the recording came to only-

"My Joker." It would say in her high pitched and childish tone he despised.

"My Joker."

"My Joker."

His name echoed through Bruce's head until finally he closed his eyes and the head of the statue disappeared into a cloud of dust and sparks. He looked down at his hands to see his fists clutching pieces of the jester's head. In a sudden rage, Bruce dashed the pieces away as he threw the mannequin to the ground and stomped on the PA until the words ceased. But the words echoed deeply in his mind until he collapsed to the ground in front of the shattered metal and plastic remains of mannequin.

It killed him to hear her voice, no matter if it was her kiddey and giddy Harley or calm and cool Harleen tone, say that phrase. It killed him even more that she left him to that mad man 'Hans' to die, just so she could save another mad man...

Bruce slammed his fists into the pile of circuits wanting to scream to release the angst that gripped his body along with the cancer, but he held it in just enough before a dark whisper came forth: "WHY?!"

"Why?..." Bruce asks him self as he fights showing any form of emotion that his ego, and Batman, would allow him to show.

"I worked so hard to keep you out of trouble, to keep you away from HIM... But you always waltzed back to him... Why can't I just leave you to him?" Bruce lifted the cowl off of his scarred face and ran his hands through his hair. "All I want to do is save you from this life with him... You know you'll die with him if this game of ours continues... I don't want you to die Harley... I don't want his life to be your end, but at the same time I don't know if my life will be any safer than his. I want to protect you, I want to see you, I need you Harleen, and your the only person I ever..."

The sound of crashing metal caught his attention like a bolt of lightening striking a tree. He threw his cowl over his head and scanned the room like a predator, but found nothing in the shadows._ 'Might have just been a fallen beam or crate...' _He thought to himself, but even the great Batman knew never to accept such ideas. Behind every echo and creek in any city or town, there was something dark hiding in the shadows...

But Bruce didn't care and soon forced himself onward toward the loft, following the sounds of the Joker's maniacal laughter and the crudely painted green arrows. Where ever he was, the cure was sure to be there, as would be Harley Quinn. But the latter seemed more plausible, or rather a fact of sad fact of life...

For a moment he turned back to the destroyed mannequin and with a tired, and rather regret filled, sigh: "If you were here, I would have forgave you..."

* * *

Just above Batman was an elevated area over looking the assembly line where Hans smirked as he pulled himself off of a bound, gagged, and teary eyed Harley Quinn. Hans found her in bound to the steel support beam, but before he could react to the rather awkward sight of a tied up and pissed off harlequin Batman appeared below them. Luckily for Hans he learned from his last encounter with Batman five years ago to line his coat with a special dye that allowed him to hide from thermal based scans like that of Batman detective and Deathstrokes's tactical vision. Throwing himself over Harley was only a spree of the moment, but he didn't mind Hans favored blondes the most.

"Sorry about that Harley dear," He said as he dusted himself off. "But I would rather stay away from Bruce as much as I can. After all, he has a mission of his own and so do I. But I'm afraid his little moment on the floor wasn't for your or my ears."

Compared to Harley, or for that matter Batman, Hans was a titan of a man. His long military coat and tall boots only added to his already threatening figure. With his gas mask gone, she could see his green eyes piercing to the very depths of her soul, just like Bruce's brown eyes. A balaclava covered the bottom half of his face and a black cap covered his head, but she could make out a dark brown or black hair due. He remained her of Bruce, sending her into a river of tears that drew Hans attention.

"Please don't cry, my dear," Hans said as he lifted her head toward him. "It's a shame to see such a beautiful woman such as yourself weeping. But I can understand your sorrow..." His hand reached into his coat ominously and Harley closed her eyes as she prepared for the worst.

But instead of a long barreled handgun or a dagger, a small photo of a tall man with a little blonde goth girl appeared in front of her face.

"I use to have someone to fret about myself," Hans told her with a sweet and nostalgic voice. "She was my world. My muse. My own Harlequin if I dare say."

"I fought countless demons, both mental and physical, to get to and back to her. I did so many things for her in my youth... I was so close to putting a ring on her finger in Metropolis..." His once cheer voice turned to sorrow as quickly as it appeared. "But fate had other plans for me... For her... For all of us..."

He put the picture away and ran his sleeve across his eyes to wipe away the small tears hiding under the bill of his cap,  
"Fate has her way with people, both men and women fall before her. Tonight is no different. Tonight is when everything Bruce and Joker have striven since their path crossed will finally come to flourish. Either Batman dies or Joker dies, Heads or Tails as Harvey Dent would put it. But fate won't just walk away from the victor after the death of challenger, no, she won't allow that. She will only stop when both are laid to rest, or at least the Joker will. But that's why he has YOU, isn't it? Your his wild card, his most prized follower who will assure that if he dies, SOMEONE will carry on his destructive legacy. But your not as strong, or as competent, as you appear, are you? Hehe. No, your not, but that's why your a wild card and not his ace in the hole. That title belongs to his friend Strange in the big fucking tower of his and all those beautiful British made missiles of his and Batman, not you, saving his sorry ass from his own short shortsightedness. This is why your here and not THERE with both of those fools. You think Joker cares for you? No. He only uses you as a pawn his game with Strange, Ra's, and Batman. But you knew that already didn't you? Or does Harleen know this and your to memorize by the Joker and your NEED to EARN his approval to recognize the sickness in front of you? WAKE UP HARLEEN! Your is dream over, just like mine were..."

Hans shook his head in disappointment, "I've read your file, Harleen. Waller made sure that I kept track of you, especially after your unwarranted defection. But luckily for you, my brother, god rest his soul and Erika's, managed to schmooze that boar of a woman over and deactivate your chip. If I was a greedy man I could just knock you out, take you to her, and receive a fine sum for my trouble. But I'm over simple things such as wealth and power. I simply want you to do what your heart tells you to do. Maybe we'll meet again, maybe else where in Gotham or maybe at the gates of hell."

"So long." Hans said as he tipped his hat and cut the restraints off of her body with a dagger before vanishing into the mill.

She quickly ripped the tape off her face with a screech, "Shit!" She yelled as she rubbed the side of her face where the tape use to be.

"Crazy bitch!" Harley groaned, referring to Talia al Ghul and her sudden rush on her before she could give the Joker the cure. But unknown to Talia, Harley had poured some of the cure into a flask and kept it on her hip for Batman as soon as she departed from the old GCPD building. Hans may have had a point on her and the Joker, but, just like Batman, he underestimated her intelligence. She split the cure to save them both, but she needed to get it away from Freeze, Hans, and Bats before they broke it. There was enough in the flask to save the people of Gotham who were stricken with the same illness as her loved ones as well...

Hearing Bruce try and let out his pain only stiffen Harleen's belief in him and in their love, but Harley was still stuck on the clown... But Hans words shook her belief a little in her love for the Joker. Making her wonder, was he right? She shook her head and gasped, but to her luck she looked down at the flask in her boot with smile to see it was still there and that the crazy bitch and the other tall, dark, and handsome, didn't find it. But then it hit her...

He knew Bruce's secret...

Then she realized who 'Hans' really was...

It was clear to her that she had her own mission to accomplish tonight, aside from taking the whole crew into the tunnels.

Save Batman...

Save Joker...

Save Gotham...

And Kill Hans...


	11. Chapter 10: All is Illuminated

_**Here's another great chapter with some Barley and some action! Please enjoy and remember to review! **_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Steel Mill, Moments later after the battle between the Joker, his crew, and Batman.**_

Rubble and railway tracks from the make shift death coaster fell from the ceiling pinning the mighty Batman to the floor. The 'Newly Cured' Joker howled and cackled triumphantly as he loomed over the Dark Knight with a rusty blade, taunting him with the threat of carving a smile on his face.

"Any last requests?" The Joker asked Batman as he placed the rust blade in the fallen knights mouth. "How about a joke..."

But the sound of high heels clicking against the concrete floor caught the attention of the Joker and the wounded Dark Knight. Batman turned his head in hopes of seeing Harley, but the rather awkward sight of Talia al Ghul with a large sword held in a sheath at her side only added to the rather 'Black Widow-ish' appearance that was the daughter of the demon. Her beauty was infallible, olive colored skin, light brown hair, a tight body in a leather outfit, and her Arabian accent oozed sexy. But her emerald eyes, though they are just as beautiful as the rest of her body, hold the heart of a murderer who was will to wipe out the entire world in an instant for the sake of the earth itself.

"How about a trade?" The vixen asked as neared the Joker and her pinned Ex. "Let him go. Take me in his place."

"I'll handle the joker around here." The Joker scoffed with a chuckle.

"Talia! What are you doing?" Batman demanded as the Joker's clown shoes crushed his hand.

"I represent the great Ra's Al Ghul. Head of the Demon, The master of the League of Assassins." Talia told him without losing her cold demeanor.

"Well bully for you!" The Joker replied until a bullet knocked the knife out of his hands. The three looked down toward the tall and imposing figure of Hans as a draft caught the tails of his coat, only adding to the already striking and intimidating figure that was 'Hans'. Not to mention the large framed, nickle plated, Mauser C-96 smoking in his hand as the brass cartage bounced on the ground before falling silent.

"Then you must be, what, the daughter of demon herself?" Hans asked with a rather gentlemanly tone as he closed in with pistol firmly set in his hand as he ran his eyes up and down her body. "Such a beautiful woman you are, Talia. To be honest, I was expecting someone a little more ruff than someone of your caliber."

"Who are you?" Talia demanded, he eyes trained on the gun toting figure.

Hans put his back to Batman and Joker as he closed in on Talia. With his free hand he pulled the balaclava down revealing his face to Talia. To her surprise, it was some she thought she, her father, and the League of Assassins, put to rest in Metropolis years ago...

"You!" She hissed, taking a battle stance and drawing the sword.

"Hey! This is my show, not yours pall!" The Joker howled, stomping his feet on the ground like a child as he jumped in front of Hans and Talia. But the two ignored him completely, to much of his annoyance.

"_Zurück aus, ich bin hier für die Frau. Nicht eine Fälschung Clown." _Hans told the Joker in German in as he pulled his Balaclava back over the lover half of his face.

"Why do you want me?" Talia asked as she closed in with her sword, pushing the Joker out of the way.

"Oh, You speak German." Hans said with a gleeful chuckle. "Aren't you just the whole package? You know why I am here, and really you seem surprised..."

"No mire mortal can simply rise from the dead." Talia replied, still holding her cold demeanor.

Hans smirked and reached into his coat with his free hand to retrieve a strange rock of some kind that seemed to radiate a strange aura around itself, "Or you have been to The Zone. This is what saved me... This is know as 'Flame'." Hans explained. "Its a regenerating artifact. Similar to your pits hidden under the city. But you of all people should know that I can not be killed so easily."

"I see..." Talia said with contempt as she eased her stance. "Your abilities have grown more dependent on those simple 'Artifacts' than your medallion. Unlike you, The great Ra's al Ghul holds the key to immortality. It's a shame that such a strong warrior such as yourself would rather fight against us than join us..."

"Woah Woah WOAH!" The Joker shouted as the topic of immortality came into play. "Is she telling the truth?" He asked Batman.

"The League has prided themselves on the use of the Lazarus pits for centuries." Hans replied darkly, "A sure sign that someone is to afraid to die."

"You must understand that saving the world is a goal that can not afford failure." Talia responded in an equally dark tone to the German and the Clown. "Dying is a luxury I can not afford, Black Hunter."

Black Hunter... A nickname Hans earned during his service for another secret society in his youth for his all black attire and reputation as a hunter of men. He was thirty now and the name coming off her lips sent him into ecstasy.

Hans bite his lip under the balaclava as his eyes traced up and down the vixens lushes body as the light of the fires burning across Arkham City broke through the ceiling and walls of the crumbling steel mill. The black leather out fit coupled together with the see through bits of her outfit, Her flawless body, and cut throat attitude, only drove Hans wild.

The Black Hunter wanted to make her his final trophy... But he had to complete his last conquest before he would finally lay with someone of her caliber. The question arose in his mind, would she allow him or would he have to take it?

No... No... Hans was better than that...

"Luxury?" He groaned as he put away his gun and drew closer toward Talia, running his hand down the blade of the sword. "My dear, you have no idea the meaning of the term 'Luxury'."

"Death is an honor, an Honor only given to Heroes, and a curse to the wicked. But for me, It is my duty to be the messenger and dispenser of Death. If it is pleasure you wish, then you will have to earn it." Hans whispered in a lustful and ominous tone as his hands grew hot and hard, dulling the blade of the sword until they reached the handle and Talia's hands. "Thank you for giving me this gift of purpose... Because without you, Talia al Ghul, I wouldn't have came to this forsaken place. I am in your debt... For it was you that faithful night that slayed my beautiful soon to be wife, Dusk, and her sisters. You freed me from my bounds and let ME come back into the world... But your not to blame for the orders passed down to you... WHERE IS RA'S?"

Talia could almost feel the energy exerting from Hans words as he whispered to her. His hands were firm, yet gentle, as they slowly graced her own, almost like Bruce's own hands the night they shared in Metropolis two years ago. The eyes of the hunter bore two emotions, Hate and Compassion, which disturbed the centuries old woman that was Talia al Ghul. He didn't want to kill her, but he wouldn't hold back unlike Bruce... But just like Bruce, He was kind, but in a strange sense. And just like Bruce, or was since her discovery of his love for the Harlequin, Hans showed interest in her as a woman.

"Wonder Tower..." She whispered firmly, keeping her eyes locked with the looming figure.

Hans pulled down his balaclava once more and gave her a wide toothed smile. "Thank you." He whispered, kissing her on the lips briefly before turning toward the stricken Batman.

"You haven't given up, Have you my old friend?" Hans asked as he knelled before the stricken Dark Knight. "I hope you haven't, Because you have a river to cross tonight. Your Harlequin is on her way and once she gets your out of here meet me at the top of the tower. We have a friend to see..."

Batman couldn't make out who 'Hans' was, but from what he could make out from his blurry vision he could see a man in his early thirties. A man he knew a long time ago during his second year of crime fighting.

Darkness took around his eyes as he saw Talia handing over her dull sword to the Joker, a sign that she was letting him go with her to the pits. While Hans graced her back with his palm before running off toward Wonder Tower. But a small blinking red light on Talia's back, the sure sign of a tracker, signaled to him that Hans was giving him a choice.

Follow me or Follow her... Save your ex or save your enemies.

In a daze, his head fell back and hit the concrete behind him causing him to blackout into the depths of his own mind...

* * *

Harley rushed out of the darkness only moments before as another missile strike struck the steel mill. She would have been there earlier, but she had to follow the Joker's order in the case of 'Protocol 10'. Luckily Batman and Hans gave the Joker and Harley a few hints to the true intentions and meaning of this 'Protocol 10', just before the first missile strike hit the smelting chamber of the mill.

Protocol 10 wasn't a safety measure, as the Joker's spies in TYGER lead him to believe, but, it was the complete and total liquidation of Arkham City and its inhabitants.

The plan at first was to tunnel through to the subway and hit Gotham from below, but the dig proved to be rather pointless as the machines began to break down and cease up due to the lack of winter oil. In response, The Joker ordered that if this 'Protocol 10' was something more than just a safety measure, the tunnels were to be used as a shelter from the storm of death that might rain upon them from their 'Friend' Hugo Strange.

But Harley had a plan to counter her 'Puddin's' as revenge for leaving her to die in the mill...

Using a private two way radio given to her by 'Hans' after the breakout from Arkham island, Harley contacted Astor and the remains of the 9th Company to plant charges in the subway to block off the hoard before they could launch their mongol raid on Gotham. Astor spoke of their mission of escorting Political Prisoners out of Arkham and back into Gotham under Batman and Hans order. Harley then gave a threat to every squad leader in Joker's army that if a PP was harmed, it would be a one way trip to Mister Hammer or the main burner. She wanted to save those poor souls from as much pain as she could, maybe she was growing some compassion for human life after all...

For Harleen it was a proud moment for her 'Shadow side', as those in her field knew alternate personalities, as it showed Harley was finally getting over the Joker. But Harleen still couldn't get over the fact that she was still trying to save the Joker...

Even through the moments where she, not Harleen, spoke openly and honestly about her love for the Dark Knight, before the knowing the truth about Batman. But even after knowing the truth about Batman and Bruce, Her love grew stronger for her Dark Knight as did her sanity as Harley and Harleen came together for a common goal.

Being the Hero she always could have been...

But Harley was still fooled in the idea that the Joker could actually show any form of emotion for her and still wished to save his life. Harleen detested the idea of saving him, but she then remembered that if Batman and Hans wouldn't kill him. Then would he himself be his own undoing? Or would she have to finally do it herself?

The two personalities were not evil, no matter what crimes the darker half had committed. Harleen was simply housing a dark and lost little girl, the little girl she was never aloud to be when she was a young girl helping her father as much as she could. Maybe the Joker knew this in some twisted way, or maybe it was just this city...

A city that seemed to bring out the worst in everyone...

Or maybe it was just Arkham itself that drove her to madness, just like it did to its creator.

Maybe it was a combination of all three...

Even in the whirlwind of madness that was Gotham and Arkham City, Harley knew deep down that she could never kill the Joker, even after his years of abuse. The Joker did have his moments where he showed her some form of love, but never compassion. Yes he is a psychopathic mass murderer, but he showed his love in the strangest of ways...  
But Harleen never saw it like Harley did, all she could see was the obvious...

He never cared about her...

The lies he told her only fueled her conviction to stop his plans and finally bring an end to this madness. But as soon as she reached the main room where the Joker had his fun with Batman, she found the room empty with her Dark Knight slowly fading away once under a pile of rubble.

"Bruce!" Harley shouted, not realizing that she called him by his real name as she rushed to aid her Dark Knight. She threw the rubble off of him as soon as she reached the pile and with in seconds he was free and cradled his her arms like a fallen hero. She shook him in her arms until he took one long and deep breath of the metallic air around him before taking to his feet.

"Bruce!" Harley shouted with glee as she leaped into his arms and smothered him with kisses. "I knew you would make it! I knew it! I Knew it! I knew it!"

As Harley shouted in ecstasy, she remembered the flask at her side. "Bruce," She said as she pulled out the flask. "I cut the cure before that crazy bitch, Talia, tied me up! I got enough for you and Gotham! Everyone wins!"

Batman looked at the flask as a flash of light scored across the sky followed by a thunderous explosion. He puts Harley on her feet and walks slowly toward a large opening caused by another explosion sometime before. As Batman steps out of the destroyed room he finds himself standing in the middle of war zone...

TYGER gunships flew over Arkham City, firing missiles and machine gun rounds at everyone and everything with in the bremer walls that sealed Arkham from the rest of the world.

Protocol 10 was now revealed to the Dark Knight...

"Bats!" Harley called to Batman as she followed him to the carnage. "You gotta drink this cure and get some to Gotham before it kills ya both dead!"

"No!" Batman responses as a formation of AH-64 Apache flew overhead toward Wonder Tower. "Talia has been taken by Joker and Hans is going to kill everyone with in the restricted zone. You have to escape with the mercenaries back to Gotham, give the cure to Commissioner Gordon, and save as many lives as you can. I'm going after Talia."

"But-"

"Harleen." Batman said in a hard tone. "I can't allow her to die. Just like I can't loose yours..."

"But what about your health!?" Harley shouted as she shuck the flask in her hand. "What will happen to you if you die before you can stop all this?! How am I going to live without you and-"

A shot rang out and destroyed the flask. The shot was from a close range of about 200 meters or less, about the range of an assault rifle of either the AK or M16 family of rifles. But then from a near by building, Batman spotted the glimmer of a small low power scope and a smiling figure waving lazily toward them.

"Hans..." Batman groaned as he zoomed in to see the cold hearten mercenary throwing his rifle over his back before escaping into the hell of Protocol 10.

"You called Bruce?" Hans gruff and accented voice echoed through his radio.

"What are you doing?" Bruce demanded, over looking that he too used his real name.

"Evening the odds, my friend. I can't let you get out so easily. After all, we have a meeting to attended to and I would hate for you to be late." Hans responded. "But please Bruce, use my real name. I hope you remember it after all these years. Especially since I wiped out a rather troublesome enemy for you, a one 'Red Claw'. Don't you remember, my old friend?"

"No. Who are you?" Batman asked bluntly as he turned to Harley.

"My name is Karl... Karl Dael." Hans responded, cutting off the transmission between him and the Dark Knight.

"It's him isn't it?" Harley interjected, her face turning grave at the mire whisper of his voice.

"You know Karl?" Batman asked in surprise.

"How could I forget'em?..." Harley whispered as she remembered his acts in the Suicide Squad, Arkham Asylum, and finally here in Arkham City under his fake name of 'Hans'. But the name was infamous among the Suicide Squad for his Break out from the Gulag and his history with the Gigagan Corporation as a Stormtrooper and hired gun. Some of Karl's acts still remain unknown to even Amanda Waller to this day...

Batman snorted and turned toward Arkham City as missiles swore across the sky from atop Wonder Tower. "I have to stop this..." He said in a low tone as he watched the gunships fire into the streets before him.

"We have to stop this..." Harley said as she took his hand and clenched it tightly. But Bruce threw her hand to the side and protested, "You have to get to safety before TYGER or Karl finds you. I can't lose you..."

"You can't loose the Joker either," Harley asserted. "You gotta save Mista J B-man, You gotta!"

Batman turned his back and growled, "It's all about him isn't it..."

"You can't let him die." Harley interjected as she flipped right in front of him and took his hands. "Your the freakin Batman, You save everyone! You saved me and you just gotta save mister J!"

"After all he's done..." Batman said, wanting to explain himself. But the harlequin closed in on his and kissed him on the lips.

"Besides," She said as she broke the kiss with a evil smile. "I want that bozo to see together when I break his little black heart."

With her sly and naughty remark, a large smile drew on Bruce's face before they two locked their lips together. Their tongues fought for dominance as snow, dust, and melting glass rained around them like rice at a wedding. The kiss lasted for what seemed to be years for the lovers, but the sounds of havoc finally took the Dark Knight away from his Harlequin. The Harlequin understood, knowing full well that it was a Knights job to march toward the sound of havoc. She kissed him one last time before waving good bye and wishing him save passage through the firestorm of blood and iron of Protocol 10.

In her heart she forgave Bruce for all he's done to her, even when he was wearing the cape and cowl. But she couldn't help but wonder, Will he make it? Especially since the remaining cure only held enough for two people? Know the Joker he might just drink it all before he stops that mad man Karl...

No... No... Harley knows the Joker better than that. The clown would relish in the fact that there was only enough for him and Batman. He would rub his plan in Bruce's face, relish in his pain and misery, then unveil his trump card, and finally try to secure those pits the records in the Courthouse spoke of. The plan had to be one of the Joker's greatest plots in all of his years of gag and clown themed terror.

Harley knew that this plan will end just like all the rest of the countless schemes and plots in the past...

But Harleen had a feeling that things wouldn't end up like it usually did for Harley in the 'Glory days'...

No... No tonight was different...

* * *

_**On the ground, The main gate to Arkham City's restricted**_** area.**

While strike teams, or rather Death Squads, pushed into Arkham to mop up the remaining prisoners. Some TYGER personal were centered around Wonder Tower and the main gate to protect from the inevitable attack by the Batman. But from the rumors circulating around Arkham City, Batman was near death and wasn't concerned a threat at all to TYGER or to Hugo Strange.

Moral was high as the almost endless waves of American and British made Apache, Black hawk, and Lynx helicopters flew over Arkham raining death and destruction upon the forsaken souls with impunity. While the TYGER guards and Thugs both carry the same firearms and gear as one another, but TYGER was better trained, lead, and held air superiority.

All the cards seemed to be in there favor...

At the gates of Arkham City's filtering stations stood a platoon of twenty six heavily armed and armored TYGER guards. Above them were two snipers carrying heavy caliber Barrett sniper rifles and an MG-3 machine gun nest to supplement the other 23 members of the guard team with the basic load out of M4 and G36 assault rifles. Not to mention sentry guns to boot...

All was calm for the TYGER guards as they loomed around like a pack of wolves waiting for fresh meat to scurry itself into their layer. Some smoked their last cigarettes, while others joked about the looks on the prisoners face before they beat them to a pulp, while others talked about what they would do to Harley Quinn or Catwoman if they ever got their hands on them.

But suddenly reality seemed to annihilate all of their small time dreams as the sight of an Apache helicopter seemed to explode into thin air followed by two more crashing with in the kill zones marked by Hugo Strange himself...

"This is TYGER 19! I repeat! This is TYGER 19!" Shouted a pilot on a open channel. "We are under attack! I repeat! We are under-" The sound of automatic fire and screams filled the radio as another chopper fell from the sky like a fallen angel. The TYGER team looked into the sky to see what appeared to be a man with an assault rifle leaping with extreme strength to the cockpits of each of the choppers and letting loose with an out dated assault rifle.

The snipers attempted to get a target, but the hectic movements of the choppers proved to be to challenging of a shot for the snipers.

"Who is it!?" One TYGER guard demanded from one of the Snipers.

"I don't know!" The Sniper responded as another chopper feel from the sky just as a UH-60 BlackHawk appeared to aid the stricken gunships.

The crew of the BlackHawk arrived in a panic as another Apache crashed into the war torn streets of Arkham City as a figure clad in a trench coat and brandishing a STG-44 leaped on the choppers and unleashed hell upon the pliots. The gunners on the sides of the Blackhawk opened fire on the man, but only succeeded in taking out more of choppers.

"What the fuck are you going man! Those are our guys!" The Co-pilot shouted at the gunner as the jaw of the man was blown off by the figure as he swooped into the cabin firing the heavy Assault rifle one handed into the back of the opposing gunner. The Co-pilot drew his back up weapon, a H&K MP-7, but was quickly subdued by the remaining clip of the Assault rifle. The figure drew a nickle plated Mauser pistol and shoved it against the temple of the TYGER pilot.

"Crash this fucking bird into that big fucking door." He said coldly as he cocked the hammer back on the old pistol.

"Are you fucked in the head?!" The Pilot responded as he looked at the large door and back to the gun toting figure.

Karl pulls his balaclava down and looks at the man with the blankest of expressions, "Open that big fucking door."

The pilot panics and tries fighting Karl, but Karl was quick and blew his brains out before taking control of the chopper. The TYGER guards below scattered like rats as the chopper ran into a collision course with the Gate to Arkham City. Karl destroyed the stick to the chopper and leaped out of the cockpit, just before the Chopper crashed into the top level of the Arkham door, Killing and maiming the Guards below as shards of glass and helicopter blades showered upon them along with burning jet fuel. The remaining TYGER guards found themselves surrounded at all ends by fire and death as they dragged their wounded bodies away from the crash.

"TYGER 77, This is Hugo Strange. What the hell is going on down there?" The monotone growl of Hugo Strange calls to a wounded TYGER officer from the radio.

"TYGER 77 here, We have contact with an unknown aggresser! We've lost four- No Five- Choppers to this guy! We need ba-"

A gun shot cuts off the transmission, but soon Karl responds with a message to Hugo Strange.

"Your next Strange." Karl groaned as he crushed the radio in his hand as he walked toward the crash sight. He looks down to the ground to see the burned MG3 on the ground with a fresh belt of ammo ready for him. He takes the MG in his hands and starts his assault on Arkham...

* * *

_**Author Note: Karl Dael is an OC from my other works such as Dusk Dawn **__**Crossing the Rubicon **__**Door to Deliveran**__**ce and Going Under. If you wish to know more about Karl read these works. They are Scooby Doo and Danny Phantom fic, but with Dark tones, Violence, and my usual MO. **_


	12. Chapter 11: Titans

_**Alright everyone! We are coming close to the end of DNA: Part 2 :) I love that everyone in the Batman comunity is enjoying my work and I'm thrilled to have another great month with these stories. Please enjoy this chapter and remember to Review :)**_

_**Gigagan belongs to Grumpydrawer, a good friend and comrade of mine. Please check out his work :)**_

_**Also, There are many references to my former stories that involve Karl Dael. Mainly to 'Door To Deliverance' and 'Going Under'. **_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Wonder Tower, Command Station.**_

Hugo Strange wiped the blood from his face with his only operable hand, the other being broken and crushed by Karl's boots after trying to stab the storm trooper with a bail point pen failed, after another merciful beating at the hands of his former aid and contractor.

Long before Hugo Strange began his work at Blackgate penitentiary, Hugo Strange was once a proud psychologist who began working with the Brimstone Society, A special Paranormal and Projects division of the Gigagan Corporation, as a researcher into the human mind, its connections to reality and the 'Other side', and mind control. He worked closely with a man by the name of Alexander Coelian, a cruel man and head of the Brimstone Society, as his confidant and right hand man. Strange's work lead to the creation of several mind based weaponry and pacification devices that aided the head of Gigagan used to great effect for some of his unruly subjects and creations...

Strange proved a promising individual with in the ranks of the Order and soon rose to the top of the ladder as a Paladin, the highest rank with in the Order. Earning the trust of many of high ranking members of the Order and Gigagan, But the Doctor, the Head of Gigagan, did not trust him... Neither did the Black Hunter, Colonel Karl Dael. As the years went by Hugo Strange found himself, along with Coelian, at odds with Karl and his methods of dealing with targets a bit to 'Brutish' and soon became apart of numerous conspiracies to kill Colonel Dael and take his place as leader of the Elite combat arm of the Society: The Fifteen Thousand Strong Wolf Brigade, made out of some of the fiercest paranormal agents and soliders the world has ever seen.

A pitched game of cloak and dagger between the factions of the Brigade came to a climax after Karl's release after Operation Fairway...

But, After the closing of the Order and the murder of high ranking members, such as Alexander Coelian, by Karl Dael, Strange found himself a home with in the confines of Blackgate Prison as the chief Psychologist continuing his work on cracking the secrets of the human mind. But deep behind the cloak of professionalism laid the mind of man driven to madness by schizophrenia and a deadly obsession with Batman caused by the Christmas 'troubles' caused by the Joker six years ago.

The 'Troubles' lead Dr. Hugo Strange down a path of madness, murder, and deception that would lead to the creation of Arkham City...

Karl stood at the far end of the command centers officer digging through various file cabinets and sifting computer programs for information. Every file or so he would throw on the ground or crumple up with a slightly disgusted expression or smirk and place it on top of the cabinet or on the table. The Black Hunter was calm, even with blood spattered across his face and trade mark coat, and even a little secure as his MG-3 sat on the table loaded with belt of armor piercing bullets. But Hugo was to weak from the thrashing Karl handed out to him as soon as he burst through the elevator, firing the MG at the hip and mowing down all of his TYGER guards in seconds.

The Hunter wasted not a single second listening to Hugo gloat about his achievement that was Arkham City as a burst of armor piercing rounds annihilated the security glass, sending shards of glass into Hugo's face before a swift rifle stock to the face sent him to the ground...

The Colonel turned to face Strange with a file in hand and a slightly interested expression as he read the contents of the paper aloud.

"The target's presence in the state continues to be a destabilizing influence. Batman is the root cause of the influx of high risk cases such The Joker, Harvey Dent, and The Penguin. His presence causes such deadly personalities to flourish and fester, creating more cases than ceasing there creation... Like germs they spread..."

Karl threw the paper on the ground with a slight smirk, "Throughout your countless amounts of paperwork, I see one unifying detail. Batman..."

"He is the... The..." Strange tried to respond before another boot to the stomach silenced him.

"The disease that plagued Gotham and allowed these... ANIMALS... To exist, Yes Strange I've heard it all. I've read it all. Your obsession with the Dark Knight and his creations has lead you to your own demise." Karl said Darkly, but soon his tone changed to praise. "But I must say, I am impressed with your plan. A chess game or cat and mouse, Solider and Spy, Cloak and Dagger... Exploiting Quincy Sharp via Jervis Tetch's mind control methods, Using your needles and Tetch's controls to build TYGER from the ground up with your former subjects, using Sharp as your puppet to green like Arkham City, and launch one of the most elaborate conspiracies in the history of Gotham City. By god, you have not lost your touch!"

Karl threw Strange to his feet by the collar and slammed him against the mainframe of the super computer, "And Neither Have I!"

"I will bury you..." Strange hisses as Karl presses him harder to the warm computer.

"With what? Bodies of the legions you and that cripple, Coelian, sent to destroy me all those years ago? Same shit different day Strange! All I see is a sea of bodies before me!" Karl shouted, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. "Who's the banker backing you for this genocide, Huh?! Who?!"

"My Master will bury you..." Strange bellowed puffing out his chest full of broken ribs in one last defiant stand. "I will control power that you could not imagine in your wildest of dreams..."

Karl dropped him to the ground before his feet with the look of disgust, "I've seen things you wouldn't believe... Things that would drive even the strongest of men to the edge of insanity. Whatever this 'Power' is it is nothing compared to the horrors I've faced..."

He drew his nickle plated Mauser pistol and shoved the barrel in his mouth, "All I want Strange, is who helped you... All I want is the man who drove me to the brink. WHERE IS RA'S AL GHUL?"

The sound of clapping behind him caught Karl's attention and the attention of his other, black, Mauser pistol as he kept his guns trained on Strange and drew a bead on the approaching figure in exotic metal armor. The figure was ruffly the size of Bruce Wayne, but older with graying hair and facial hair. An expression of a approval in his emerald eyes surprised Karl as he took to his feet with pistol in hand.

"Who are you?" Karl asked the figure as he kept the pistol in his face and his eyes on the large sword at the mans side.

"I am the great Ra's Al Ghul..." The figure replied in a sinister whisper as the sound of a blade coming out of a sheath.

* * *

The elevator took Batman to the very top of Wonder Tower, a favor grated by Karl who deactivated all forms of security in the tower. 'Deactivated' was an understatement as the bodies of TYGER security teams laid piled up behind a garage door littered with bullet holes. Rivers of shell casings and blood was Karl's calling card, it littered the processing station and the very elevator he stood in. 7.62mm casings rolled around in the blood pouring from the throat of dead TYGER guard laying in the elevator.

The guard was alive five minutes before. But despite Bruce's best attempts to save the guard, He died after drowning in his own blood...

His eyes, even in death, seemed cold and harsh as if he was robotic. But as he died he shouted the name of his murderer with his torn vocal cords, "HANS! HANS!"

The pseudonym echoed through the elevator, as did the ripping fire of the MG-3 and the screams of dying TYGER guards, as the Dark Knight drew closer to the command center. He knew what to expect once he reached the top of the tower, the scenes of destruction, torn bodies, shell casings, and the large holes in the elevator doors for told of what was coming.

Batman knew Karl during the events of the Blackgate riots five or six years ago, this was his M.O. Take the enemy by surprise, throw them into the dirt, and use extreme force to defeat the enemy. Any means necessary...

Any means necessary... A saying that Batman threw away after seeing Karl at work... It was him who was the reason for his tempering methods...

As the remaining floors dwindled to two, Bruce took a deep as the sound of the machine gun fell silent. The elevator reached the top floor and the bullet torn doors opened to reveal the tattered remains of another TYGER platoon. The whole center was trashed as if a hoard of blood thirsty mongols ransacked the place.

But before he could fully soak in the atmosphere around him a gunshot rang out above him in the main control room followed by another. Batman sprang into action and leaped to the second level to see the infamous Karl Dael standing around the bodies of Hugo Strange and Ra's Al Ghul. His trade mark Mauser pistols were empty, as shown by the bolts locking back, a sign that he had finally ran out of ammunition. The doors were shattered by his machine gun as large shards of glass covered the floor at their feet. He slowly walked forward toward the center and soon was greeted by Karl, who holstered his empty guns in his belt.

"I see you found my invitation." Karl said with a smirk as he wiped the blood from his face.

Batman gazed down at the impaled corpse of Ra's al Ghul and then the lifeless body of Hugo Strange. "Invitation?" He asks with disgust.

"I couldn't just let you have a happy ending, Even you know this." Karl explained. "I was hopping you got here a little earlier to see me finish this... ANIMAL..." He shouted, pointing at Ra's body.

"Why did you kill him?" Batman demanded.

Karl chuckled, "The same reason I came to Gotham once more. To find the demon... Finding Professor Strange was a consolation, a well deserved addition to the fires below our feet."

"You didn't have to kill them..."

"On the contrary," Karl said in a more refined and remorseless tone. "My history with the Professor goes back years to my days serving another cause... A time when I was just a young man in my early twenties, but to spare you the details, I don't enjoy men trying to kill me out of pure jealousy."

"Justifying the killing of another human being-"

"Human being?" Karl interjected. "You believe, in your wildest of dreams, that men like Strange, a man who personally killed over 139 of his own men and test subjects, deserves to be called a 'Man'? A man does not simply kill his comrades like flies with the mood strikes him! I've seen the bodies of bound and gagged TYGER commandos tied with leather belts to an operating table down below! Finger missing, mouths sewn shut, eyes gauged out, and countless mounds of empty syringes of serums and poisons that this DOG pumped into these blind and brainwashed men! A man who does such evil to his own only deserves to die."

"Killing men out of contempt only leads you down a path of ruin." Batman told him in his gruff as he gazed at the body of Strange. "You do not have the right to take a life."

"This is coming from a man who wears a mask to beat the wicked half to death." Karl stonewalled him. "You have no room to talk, really, and for all I'm concerned what I do isn't a right, but a privilege I've earned."

"Privilege? You think taking a life is a privilege?"

Karl shook his head. "Taking the wicked to the gates of hell is something you just can't stop. But once you take the life of a wicked one, you just... Just. Can't. STOP."

Karl opened his coat to reveal a black tunic with the neck order 'Life rune' medal around his neck and other medals emblazoned on his chest. "Have you ever been to war, Bruce?"

"Never." Batman replied.

"War changes men." Karl tells him as he removes his neck order rune. "Going to war is like having a mirror turned on you. You see... The real you... The beast inside of you that craves for the day to set free by the key of adversity. The animal willing to do anything to survive. The monster who kills the innocent with the guilty... Once you go to war... It stays with you... Once you know who you REALLY are... Once you know what your MADE of... Once they push you... Anything is possible..."

"Your a mad man." Batman tells him as he removes the medals on his chest and sets them on the table.

"Am I now? ONCE AGAIN, You have no room to take your place upon the moral high ground. You must remember that you yourself are under a different name, This being 'Vigilantism'." Karl corrected him. "The only difference is that your to afraid to end the madness. While I am willing too. Just look at Ra's... It was him who ordered your old friend Red Claw and her unit to attack the concert hall in Metropolis and his daughter who wounded my wife... I bled red claw dry for their crimes... But your former lover, Talia, got away... Leaving me to finish off my own wife..."

Karl shook his head with a dying man's smirk as he placed his trench shovel on the table. "Funny how guys get shot... To afraid to die, to afraid to live... But sometimes you gotta do the wrong thing for the right reason..."

Karl kicked the body of Ra's as he placed his combat loading on the table, "He taught me that... Right before I ended him. Smart man really, but 600 years of experience and a decaying mind really takes a tole on your sanity. But he's right, sometime you must do the wrong thing for the right reason. His reason being the cleaning of the earth from the filth of humanity. We began talking and discussing ethics, politics, and even history itself until finally coming to the conclusion that he was right about one thing: Adversity made us who we are. Arkham proved this theory of ours... Then he offered me a position in the League, the same machine that killed my beloved... Killing him became my pleasure... I stopped him, but not them all. All I have to do is finish off the daughter and they'll know who did this. They'll be cursing my name when the blood is squirting out of their necks. And your not going to stop me- You think I don't know you? What your about? What you came here to do? WAKE UP! I use to BE YOU."

"All you bring is hatred and death where ever you go." Batman stonewalled him.

"You know how this is going to end then, Batman..." Karl told Batman as they circled one another in the control room of Wonder Tower as the body of Ra's Al Ghul laid motionless in a puddle of blood with a sword through his chest and a gun shot wound to the forehead.

* * *

_**Present-**_

Karl and Bruce circled one another like wolves over a fresh carcass, "There has to be another way." Batman told him as Karl drew closer.

"Three ways, Batman. Three ways." Said Karl as he launched a furious barrage of cuts and hay makers, only to be blocked by Batman with only a few hits taking effect on the Dark Knight. Batman then got one good hit on Karl's stomach and gave him enough time to beat him down. Karl then caught his fists, picked him up, and threw him down to the next floor below them.

"You Die, I die, or the alternative." Karl said as took the black Mauser pistol off the table and loaded one bullet into the chamber before shoving it into his belt and leaped down to the lower half of the center. "Three way to end this Bruce..."

Bruce drew his batclaw and shot it at Karl, but the brutal mercenary caught the claw and crushed it in his hand. "I don't want to fight you Karl."

"I know you don't and either do I." Karl told him bluntly. "But I know better than to just go after the Daughter of the Demon without killing the Father. My goal is in reach, once I finish off the daughter the whole of the League will cry for war. Once the league cries for war, It will spill over after the fires of Arkham have turned to embers."

"You want a war to change the people of Gotham. To turn them into you." Batman said darkly as he throws a Batarang at Karl.

The batarang flies through the air toward the Black Hunter only to be caught by his bloody hands. "Adversity introduces us to ourselves, don't you agree?"

Batman grunts and takes a aggressive stance, launching himself at the Hunter with enough force to leap over him and attack him from behind. But Karl anticipated the attack, grabbed him from mid air, and slammed him to the ground. The Lazarus pit's abilities were beginning to fad away, sickening the mighty Dark Knight with weakness.

It wasn't fair to Bruce and it sickened Karl, who longed to spar one on one with the Dark Knight on even ground since they stomped out the Blackgate riots during Christmas. Even though Karl was warrior, he was a man of sportsmanship and honor. He could allow himself to strike down a obviously ill man. It wasn't fair to either of them. He anticipated that Batman would have already seized the cure before his confrontation at the steel mill or at least Harley Quinn would have given him a sample before purposing him, but it seems he was wrong.

The hunter looked at him with a blank, yet dark, gaze. This was the moment he dreamed off since he first encountered him all those years ago, Karl was finally going to defeat someone worthy. Ra's was a close second, but to defeat the might Batman would make him a legend among the worlds highest circles... But it wasn't right to just kill a man so close to death, a death caused by a man who was lower than the scum he cleaned off his boots, the Joker. It wouldn't be his victory... But the Jokers and Karl's pride and ego would never allow himself to be classified, or mentioned, together with the Joker.

He let out a sigh and picked the Dark Knight off the ground by collar, "This isn't right." Karl said as he put Batman on his feet.

Batman headbutt Karl and preceded to large a relentless beat down on Karl. He throws the finishing blow, but fails to knock him out. Only leaving Karl bleeding from the jaw from a few broken teeth. The various blows Batman stuck at the Hunter, blows that would incapacitate or slow down, at the least, a well trained fighter. But it did nothing...

The thunder of rotor blades gave way to a massive flood light of a Air TYGER AH-1 Cobra gunship shining in their eyes from the balcony of the command center. The two warriors shield their eyes at the intense light of the flood light as the Chopper loomed around the Tower scanning the light across the floors along with the Vulcan 20mm auto-cannon.

"Down!" Karl tackled on Batman as the Mini-gun span up and let loose a long burst around the control room. "Fucking TYGER punks!" Karl shouted as he drew his Mauser's to see only one loaded, "_Shit..."_

"TYGER communications say that a Chopper is rogue in this area..." Batman told him as they listened to TYGER radio traffic as they squabbled about a crazy blonde chick taking a Cobra.

"Oh boys," A familiar voice responded, "Have I ever told you the joke about TYGER guard and the Easter bunny?"

"Shelia..." Karl groaned with contempt as the burst stopped and the chopper circled around the tower looking for the two men.

"A lover of yours?" Batman asked him as the chopper disappeared to the other side of the tower.

"My sister." Karl replied. "I thought I killed her..."

"It seems she's just as persistent as you are." Batman replied, to much of Karl's dismay.

"Persistent isn't the word I would use for a cockroach or a traitor." Karl replied. "The Riddler has been giving me information on everyone in Arkham, even on my own team. My older brother and sister have been working with Strange since the Asylum. Shooting traitors is a necessity. I guess she doesn't like the fact that I tried to kill her..."

A rocket from the chopper exploded with in the control room, Destroying the control room but spared one of the main computers that control Wonder Tower. The explosion threw Batman and Karl onto the balcony, right into the open air. Karl looked around for the MG to even the odds, but the weapon must have been destroyed in the blast. He took to his feet along with Batman as they searched for the chopper.

"Bruce," Karl shouted to him with black Mauser in hand. "Finish this nightmare! I'll hold off the Chopper!"

"I'm not leaving you to take another life!" Batman shouted back.

"Damn it man! You have a date with fate tonight!" Karl replied as the light of the Cobra basked them in its light. But before Batman could reply...

Karl aimed and fired, hitting Batman in the chest with a close range blast from a 9mm slug to the chest to knock him off the guard rail behind him as the Cobra hovered in front of him... The cannon spooling up for the death blow...

* * *

The air raced against Bruce's face as he fell from the tower with his back to the ground. He opened his eyes to see a large explosion engulf the tower and knock the chopper around like a child's bath toy in a bathtub. He flipped around in the air and flew toward a roof top near the gate to Arkham City. Once he landed he looked up to see the Tower burning above him...

Bruce looked down to his chest to see a bullet sticking out of the armored top of his batsuit. The bullet was strange in shape as it stuck of the left breast. He pulled the bullet out by hand and examined it carefully.

"Rubber bullet..." Bruce said as he dropped the bullet on the ground and looked back up the tower with a sad sigh as he watched it burn. As he watched the tower burn, the frantic calls of TYGER command called for the end of Protocol 10.

The cold blooded Black Hunter saved the wretched souls of Arkham City... He saved him as well before he gave his life...

Bruce gave a quick moment of silence as he turned to the gate to Arkham City for an old friend who gave his life to save him and Arkham. But as he took this moment to remember the fallen, a kiss covered note fell from the sky with his name on it flew into his face.

The note had his name, his real name, written on the front in black ink with black and red kisses around it. "Harley..." He whispered as he held the note in his hand.

Then the face of the Joker appeared on the big screen before him, gloating and howling with a gun pointed to Talia's head.

The night wasn't over just yet...


	13. Chapter 12: Changing of the Times

_**Last Chapter and then an Epilogue! Thank you all for your views and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Remember, Read and Review! :D**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Near Monarch Theatre-**_

"Oi, Batman." The cheery Irishman called over the communications to the Dark Knight as the Joker finally finished his threat against Batman. "The PP's have exited the city and TYGER has bugger off'ed for go this go around. The Dutchman and I got in touch with a rozzer by the name of Gordon to send in a team to stop this bloody circus once and for all. But be warned, the Frenchy says that clown has a plan you and you better stay on your toes for this one."

"Good work," Batman told the Irishman, but neglected to tell him the story of Hans/Karl. "Have you seen Harley Quinn? Hans released her before I went after Hugo Strange."

"10-4, The crazy bitch told us of your little alliance about an hour ago before we started through the sewer. Seems ol' Uncle Joker has enough hooligans with guns to take care of TYGER down here though and that psychopathic bird of his got us to plant some charges over the exit to the subway to block them in. No way in hell are we letting those fucko's breakout of this brig. Shes with us right-"

"Batsy!" Harley interjected with glee on another channel.

"Harley..." Batman said in a calm tone as he switched to a private channel with Harley. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine once you bring this crazy night to an end, Mr. B." She giggled before kissing into the microphone. "What happen to Karl?"

A sudden silence took between the Dark Knight and the Harlequin. Bruce couldn't say for sure, but Harley assumed the worse. "He had it coming..."

"He stop Protocol 10." Batman responded.

"I don't care if he stopped Mr. J from droppin a nuke on Gotham!" Harley snapped. "That creep is nuthin butta walkin slaughterhouse! Six feet of columbine! He's just a freak on Waller's leash! That shit he did in Korea even made the Joker shutter!"

"Karl and the Joker seem to have taste for mur-"

"Oh don't give me that Bruce!" Harley snapped again. "Jokah does what he does because it's funny! Karl does it cause he's a lost cause! He ain't gotta gal to go to or a pot to piss in! Besides, he tried to kill me! Why would you protect someone who wanted kill your favorite little princess of crime?"

The Joker appeared on the large big screen, interrupting the two lovers with his hectic laughter. "Heeeelllloooooo! Is anyone there?!" The Joker called into the microphone as the grinning mug of the Joker appeared on the crooked plasma screen TV hanging on the bremer wall near by.

"Hello Batman!" The clown prince of crime said smugly as he twirled a .357 in his hand near Talia. "I know you can here me... I haven't caught you at a bad time have I? I beginning to wonder if you forgotten all about little old me. Take a look at your girlfriend, or should I say your EX-Girlfriend, is endanger of having her pretty little brains splattered all over this camera. It's a shame that you traded this for little old Harley. But I guess if you can't have me, why not have the next. Best. Thing. Oooohooohahahaooo! I have a little show going on for you, a real red carpet affair. You better hurry, your other squeeze might be left dead in your dressing room right next to MY LEADING LADY!"

The blood in the veins of both Bruce Wayne and Harley Quinn turned to fire as the last of the Jokers taunt echoed through Arkham City...

Bruce fought the rage with in him with all the control he could muster in his body, mind, and soul to combat the beast inside of him, the beast Karl spoke of.

* * *

_**In the Sewers near the theater-**_

But Harley and Harleen had enough of it...

"I'M NOT YOUR LADY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran toward the closest manhole in the sewers. But Astor and Sean grabbed her, but not to stop her from finally bring an end to the nightmare.

"Harleen." Allen said as approached her with sympathetic expression. "What the hell are you thinking? Your letting yourself go wild on this! You can't possibly think your going to fight off a whole army by yourself?"

Harley spat and fought the mercenaries with her rage fueled body as her old friend drew a beat down Colt .45 and handed it to her grip first. "Put one between his eyes for me." Allen told her as the other two let her go.

"Two in the chest, one in the head, and maybe a mag in the boys for good measure." Sean said with a chuckled. "We'll be right behind you."

Harley rushed forward without a word said until she reached the latter leading to the surface. "Thanks guys..." She said as they ran to the latter behind her.

This was it... This was the night she was finally gonna to take, No, win her freedom back from the man who took her mind and played her heart down a path of destruction, lies, and blood letting. But this night was the night she stopped the carnival ride once and for all...

"Here I come puddin..." Harley said in a dark, yet joyful tone as she came closer and closer to the surface.

* * *

_**Inside the Theater-**_

The dots were connected...

The cat was out of the bag...

And the death of Talia al Ghul only made the bitter drink of truth harder to swallow as the Joker gloated over his murder of the Daughter of the Demon. With the death of Talia, The Joker revealed his trump card that would bring him the long awaited glory of batman's defeat. Throughout the night, Joker demoralized, taunted, and blackmailed Batman through out the night to do his bidding.

Defeating his two biggest rivals in the war for Arkham City, finishing the cure, cutting the head off of TYGER, and bring him the final piece to his plan: The location of the Lazarus pit in the form of Talia al Ghul.

All the while having a double do his bidding while the real Joker hid behind the scenes in luxury while his double, and Harley, did his dirty work. It was all coming into place, everything was going according to plan...

Now with Batman staring into the face of his trump card, Clayface, the Joker could honestly relish in the Batman's misery. But something was missing... Something that could really twist the knife into Batman's stomach more than outwitting him...

Then it hit him.

"Hiya puddin!" The almost childish voice of his Harlequin called to him. Her voice brought a smile to his face. What could be better than rubbing in the death of the Batman's ex-girlfriend than with his puppet, Harley Quinn.

"Oh Harls you do know how to make me smile!" The sickening Joker spouted with glee as he turned around to see the bubbly joy of Harley Quinn. But instead of the smile of the Harliquinn and the feeling of his palm striking her down for cheating on him with his hated enemy. He knew it all...

Oh did he know of THEIR exploits in Arkham City and even before the Asylum...

Joker wanted one more thing from her before Batman bit the dust against Clayface... He wanted her love for him to shine through before he put a bullet in her two timing head...

Raising the pistol in his sickly hand as he turned, the gun was shot out of his hand by the Harlequin's Colt automatic. "Did ya miss me?" She asked him in a dark gruff with a smoking gun in her hand.

Without hesitation a crooked smile took its place on the Jokers face and began spinning a web of lies, the usual lies he used before. "Of course I did, honey muffin, why sending you out has really taken a tole on me. You know I couldn't live without you..."

"And I could live without you." Harley replied as she held her gun firmly in her hands. Joker took a step and Harley quickly shot near his foot. "One more step and I won't miss..."

The Joker opened his mouth to throw more lies at Harley, but a thunderous, blood spitting, cough broke his train of thought. He threw his hand out to a broken chair to hold himself up as he cough and hacked out blood onto the floor.

'I can't do this to him...' Harley thought to herself as her grip on the gun became loose.

'_BULLSHIT...' Harleen hissed as she took charge and re-tighten her grip on the pistol. 'Bruce isn't here to stop us this time! It's us or him, and I would rather it be HIM!'__  
_

'But he was only-'

_'He was only demoralizing, beating, abusing, bullying, and trying to kill us over and over and over AGAIN! After all he is a GOOD GUY, isn't he? The same mass murdering mad man who would rather go out and play with Batman, than to spend one night with YOU. The same man, who when WE actually trap the Bat, he goes blind with rage and throws us off a roof! The same man who replaced YOU with a PUPPET, a hunk of FUCKING WOOD AND NAILS!'_

Harleen shouted with religious passion, causing the memories of the beatings to play over and over again like a movie in her brain. The bones in her body began to relieve the beatings and throbbed relentlessly as if the Joker was thrashing her with fists, knives, and broken bottles. Her eyes are blind by streaming tear as she whispers "Never again" over and over again as the pistol twitched in her hands.

But her instability paused the horror show and changed the reel to scenes of 'The good old days' of Batsy nipping at their tails and leaping from roof top to roof top. The old days filled with thrills and chills as heist after heist, plot after plot, and plan after plan were followed by laughs all around...

* * *

Visions of Harley in a long wedding dress with her clown prince of crime standing by a distorted alter of clown masks and carnival themes with the Penguin presiding as the clown face priest. The best man was Batman, who's face was carved with a sickening smile and rope around his neck from his death, stood propped on a hand truck beside the Joker holding the rings in his cold gloved hands. To Harley's right side was the Maid of Honor, Poison Ivy, with a reluctant smirk on her face as she stood next to her best friend in a long leaf and vine dress with roses budding from the ends. In the far right were the Groomsmen, Two-Face, Bane, Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, Black Mask, The Abramovici twins, Killer Croc, and the Riddler all dress in purple and green pin striped tuxedos with squirting flowers pined on their chests. To the far left were Harley's bridesmaids of Catwoman, A dead Vicky Vale, A dead Batgirl, Killer Frost, and Karl's sister 'Erika' all dressed in black and red dresses with her Harlequin face paint.  
Her eyes turned to her dearly beloved Joker as he stood with his perfect mug restored and a soft look in his crazy eyes as the Penguin read allowed their vows. His classic suit was replaced by the dark purple suit with long coat tails he wore when he was brought to Blackgate all those years ago. She held a bouquet of black and red squirting flowers in one hand and in the other the hand of her soon to be husband. As the ceremony drew to a close, The Penguin closed the grand book of gags and addressed Harley.

"Harley Quinn, Do you take the Joker as your Lawfully wedded husband till death do you part?" The Penguin asked her the black tuxedo figure of Karl appeared from behind and presented them the rings to the couple.

Harley took one of the rings and slid it on the Joker's pasty hands, "I do." She said with a large smile as all her dreams began to come true.

Then Joker, "Joker, do you take Ms. Harley Quinn as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." The Joker said with a larger smile on his face as he slid the large diamond ring on Harley's hand as tears steamed down her face from behind the veil.

"Then in the power invested by me and me along, Kiss the bride already!" Penguin said.

The Joker lifted the veil from her face as they moved closely to sealed their love with a kiss...

A large knife cut through her delusions, sending static across her mind like a old cable TV as her psychosis fought against the truth for control. Delusions of a 'Normal life' with the Joker flicked between the sight of the decaying theater as the Joker slowly picked himself up to his feet.

She stood frozen like a stone with a blank glare as the Joker slowly came closer...

* * *

A sucker punch shattered her dreams and the sight of her own .45 in her face dashed whatever hopes left in her heart as the Joker held her life in his dying hands.

"No one stabs me in the back and gets away with it!" The Joker said with a slight smile. "And besides, What good is a mire mortal to an immortal! Play time is over Harls, Get off the Stage."

"But Puddin..." Harley plead as he pressed the warm muzzle of the gun onto her forehead. "I love you... Why would you do this to me?"

"Oh Harley..." The Joker replied as he pulled the hammer back on the pistol. "I hurt you because I love you..."

A cataclysmic crash rocked the theater to its core as a Cobra helicopter crashed through the building and slammed right into the monstrous Clayface and detonated the explosives at the corners of the theater, Sending Clayface and Batman down below the theater. The explosion threw the Joker off of Harley and sent her nearly falling off the edge of the balcony toward the abyss below. Fire danced along the bottom floor of the theater around the massive crater made by the helicopter crash. The chopper sat on its side near the crater with the body of a young blonde girl, Erika, sticking out of the broken cockpit raked with gunshot wounds that tore her body into big chunks of hamburger meat. The sight caused her to vomit at the gruesome sight below her.

She tried to pick herself up, but someones foot and the barrel of a gun stopped her in her tracks. But the shoes were heavy and the barrel was thin, something the Joker did not have on or with him.

"You miss me Quinn?" The dark chuckle of Karl asked her as he took his boot off her back and let out his hand to help her up.

She slapped him across the face and looked over to see the Joker missing in action, "WHERE IS THAT FUCKING CLOWN!? FIRST BATS AND NOW YOU STOP ME FROM ENDING THIS NIGHTMARE, FUCK OFF!" She screamed as she tried to take Karl's gun from him.

"Ease now." Karl replied as he shoved the pistol in his stomach. "We're on the same here, remember?"

"You tried to kill batsy! AND YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!" Harley screamed as she pointed to the hole only to hear the insane laughter of the Joker in the distance. Twirling around on her heels she looked toward the crater to see the Joker slowly climbing down a rope latter toward the abyss below. From the light of the fires, she could see Batman dueling against legions of Clayface's minions with a large sword in a strange room similar to that of a religious chamber.

"YOUR A DEAD MAN JOKER!" Harley screamed as she turned to Karl, who was addressing the newly arrived ruminates of the 9th Company who informed him of another one of Joker's contingency plans.

"Oi Hans," Sean said as he held a Spas-12 in his arms. "Joker's bully boys are prepping for an assault on the walls. Seems the Russian twins are following one of Joker's mad plans if this all goes arseways."

"That being?" Karl asked him as he cocked his head to look over at Harley as she watched the Joker climb down the latter with clenched fists.

"The clown wants to storm the tower and knock over TYGER." Harley told him as she watched the Joker escape. "Just activate the charges and blow those smucks to bits!"

"The charges are kaput!" Allen told her as he came out of the shadows with AKM in one hand and a MG-3 on his back. "That hoard is coming our way to rescue the Joker!"

"More or less kill the bastard for cutting the twins apart and getting out of Arkham..." Karl remarked.

"Joker is a coward..." Harley groaned as she turned back to the Mercenaries.

"_Oui!" _Astor replied as his AKM swings with every step as he carries two ammo boxes full of bullets for the MG and a tripod on his back. "We tried to activate the charges, but the detonators and fuses were defective and only closed off two of the main tunnels. But we managed to plant a few mines on the way her to hold the advance until we set up a line out side the theater."

"Fantastic." Karl said with pride has he put his gun in his belt. "Sean, You and the Afrikaner set up the Bonesaw (MG-3) in the ticket booth. I want that street turned into a kill zone. I'll call for reinforcements from some contacts of mine across Arkham and Harley, I need a favor from you."

"Now why would I help a creep like you?" Harley asked him in a rude tone.

Karl rolled his eyes and ignored her rude remark, "Who's side is Ivy on? I've been watching her for days and no one deals with her. Hell even the Riddler doesn't know what she is up to or planning! I know you and her use to run together and I need you to bring her to our side."

"Did ya even hear me?! WHY SHOULD I?!" Harley exclaimed, getting in Karl's face until the two were staring each other down like wolves.

"Because it's right." Allen spoke up. "Because if Batman doesn't stop the Joker and we don't stop those thugs from taking over TYGER. Then what is going to stop them from turning and pillaging Gotham? Who's going to fight for the weak? Who's going to stop the madness if Batman fails?"

"BATMAN ISN'T GONNA LOSE!" Harley screamed defiantly.

"He may not lose against the Joker." Karl interjected. "But against a heavily armed hoard... The odds are stacked against him. And when the odds are against you, you send in the Best your army can offer. That means us, you, me, and Ivy. We served together in the squad and through we did fight during our time together, I made a promise to Batman to spare you if I ever returned to Gotham. But I also made a promise to myself..."

Karl drew his nickle plated Mauser, his personal side arm that an old friend of his gave him during his first tour on the Eastern Front, and turned it handle first to Harley. "The next time we fought, It would be side by side."

Harley looked toward the black handled Mauser with a skeptical glare, Why would the man who tried to kill Batman give her, his girlfriend, or what she assumed to be, a gun when he knew she would simply turn it on him?

But the steely eyed glare of the feared Karl Dael held a veil of secrets just like Bruce's brown eyes. Behind the green eyes laid a man who shared the path of Bruce Wayne, but instead of trying to better the world, he walked down the darkening path. But instead of a Joker or a Two-face, came the Black Hunter, came the Colonel, Came the man she really feared...

Beyond the obvious laid something she only saw in Batman, Pity. He felt sorry for her and maybe even cared about her. But she could help but feel as if he was doing it out of love for another... Regret...

Regret filled the darkness of his pupils...

Harley felt his pain, but she couldn't really rap her mind around it unlike with Bruce's. But, unlike Bruce, Karl's eyes spoke volumes about his soul.

They didn't cry out for the love of another, or even love at all. No cries for help, love, compassion, or even sadness...

They cried for War...

'He's a wanderer' Harley thought to herself as she looked down at the pistol clutched in his hand. 'It's not like he doesn't want anyone to walk the lonesome road with him, It's that he CAN't have anyone. He has to do this on his own... And he knows it...'

"Yea..." Harley said as she took the heavy framed pistol in her hand. "Sure... Whatever..."

Her eyes avoided any contact with his, something Harley never liked about him was the glare he gave this empty and almost dead glare. It disturbed her greatly and really shook her to the very core... This almost over whelming power about him that seemed to suck the life out of everything and everyone around him...

"Good." Karl said as he turned to the men. "Set up the machine gun and get ready. Knowing Joker's men they might attack this very moment. Try to build cover or take a harden spot for your MG nest. Do you have spare barrels for that beast?"

"_Jawohl."_ Allen replied.

"Fantastic!" Karl shouted. "Set up positions! Harley and I will bring reinforcements! And remember, No prisoners!"

The mercenaries nodded and run outside to begin setting up a barrier at the front of the Theater. Karl and Harley followed close behind as the sounds of struggle below the floors began to echo to the outside...

* * *

Stepping into the cold once more, Karl and Harley took off toward Ivy's lair toward the coast of Arkham City, leaving Sean, Astor, and Allen to fortify a line to hold off the oncoming attack. With in half an hour, the three mercenaries managed to throw together a collection of heavy theater benches, bits of TYGER choppers, steel plating, and rubble into barricades to block the entrance to the theater. The MG was set up in the ticket booth with Sean and Astor while Allen took position in a pile of rubble near by. But as they were setting up, they were confronted by a young lad by the name of Ricky Larson.

Ricky wore a full Tiger striped camouflage uniform with a warm turtle neck under his tunic, tall East German jackboots, combat loading and webbing, AKS74U assault rifle, and a warm Russian fur hat on his head.

"Comrade Astor! Comrade Astor!" The Ginger lad called as he ran toward Allen, who greeted him with the barrel of his AKM.

"_Maklik nou, Wie is jy?" _The South African asked the Ginger as he threw his arms up, which drew the attention of Astor from the nest.

"Larson!" Astor called to him as he jumped out of the window with Sean to meet the boy. "You made it! Where is your men?"

"Oi froggy," Sean asked. "What the hell is this all about? Who the ginger?"

"Richard Larson, Sir!" Ricky said in a military style as he clicked his heels together with a salute.

"Cut the shit beer boy." Sean told him, breaking the boy's ego over his knee. "Froggy, who the fuck is this ginger and why shouldn't I shoot the fucker in the head and take that warm hat of his?"

"His name is Richard Larson, a former member of the Joker gang." Astor explained. "I met him in the steel mill and began talking to him about defecting. So far he managed to turn over about nine men. But It seems they have... How do the Americans say? 'turn tail and ran'?"

"American's don't run." The cocky tone of a Gotham cop replied. From the darkness came the sight of the remaining men of Commissioner Gordon's strike team clad in captured Tyger uniforms and brandishing AKM's. Two men sat down boxes of Chinese stick grenades and Ammunition near the barricades. "They're just a little late for the party."

A slow and rising roar of mad screams echoed in the distance as the slow rumble of hundreds of foot steps shook the ground below there feet. Sean rose his binoculars down toward the distance to see a hoard of clown masked madmen lead by two hulking, one armed, and heavily armored Abramovici twins leading the Assault.

"TAKE UP COVER!" Sean shouted, running to the MG nest with Astor close behind. Allen and the remaining cops took cover in the rubble and readied for battle...

Allen and a cop took cover behind a pile of rubble near the left flank of the MG nest. He pried open the box of Chinese stick grenades with his knife and began taking a part some of the grenades warheads.

"What are you doing Pal?!" The confused cop asked him as Allen pulled a roll of electrical tape from his kit.

"Bundle grenades..." Allen said calmly as he bound together six heads on one grenade.

Behind them sat Sean Disney behind the barrel of the Bonesaw, MG-3. He freed the hold of the tripod to allow him to swing the weapon around and kept a supply of quick change barrels and ammo belts handy for quick replacement. As the hoard drew closer he ordered Allen to activate the landmines...

The mines did not active...

The hoard pushed relentless until finally Sean opened fire on the lead units with a long burst of armor penetrating rounds, mowing down the main spear head and causing the enemy forces to scatter like rats as the officers of the 13th Precinct and Allen pinned them down with aimed fire.

Bullets whizzed passed Allen's head as he popped up from behind the rubble to fire on any visible enemies. Dust and snow danced in the sky along with careless burst from the criminal hoard as they panicked from the withering fire of the bonesaw. Burst from the MG echoed throughout the street like a orchestra of buzz-saws all operating at once over whelming the sounds of sporadic rifle fire and explosions. The hoard, seemingly unstoppable with vast numbers of men, was stopped dead in its tracks with most of it's narcotic fueled shock troops mowed down by the machine gun nests.

The saner portion of the force huddled around the rubble or tried to enter buildings to disperse or find better cover from the hailstorm of lead and tracers.

"They're breaking up!" Allen yelled to the men as he loaded another magazine into his rifle.

"They're getting into the buildings!" One of the cops yelled before a bullet turned his skull into paste. Bullets from above raked the top portion of the rubble and gave the hoard sometime to move up as the MG shifted it's fire toward the windows on the left and right. Allen and Ricky began throwing grenades in front of the advancing hoards to disperse their ranks, but the watchful eyes and the heavy M60 machine guns in the arm of the Abramovici twins as they cut down anyone who wanted to turn retreat.

From the distance of about 400-450 meters, Allen could see some of the thugs who tried to escape meeting the unrepentant muzzle of M60's. He couldn't make out the expression or even the faces of the Abramovici twins due to the heavy full body armor they wore. But from the lack of hesitation, Allen knew that they were not a force to scoff at...

Sean's bonesaw ceased firing, causing a panic in the hearts of the cops who saw the convicts surging forward. "What happen to the machine gun!?" One cop shouted to Sean.

"Fucking jammed and the barrel is stuck in place!" Sean replied as he tried to clear the jam. "Give me a second!"

Astor began firing his AK in support of Sean as he cleared the weapon while the others began hurling hand grenades down the street and firing at the windows.

Bullets bounced off the walls of the harden Gotham buildings, nearly killing who ever was unlucky enough to find themselves in the path of the ricochet. Sean cleared the jam and loaded a fresh belt into the Bonesaw, but struggled to pyre the barrel free from the housing to replace it with cold barrel. He tried to hammering out the barrel with the side of his combat knife but it was useless.

"Fucking TYGER doesn't fucking know what winter gun oil is!" Sean shouted as he slapped the MG and took up his Spas-12 shotgun to keep fighting. Ricky and Allen continued to throw bundled grenades into the heart of the mass of convicts, but they wouldn't faultier as the mad cries and howls of psychotic criminals as the bullets and shrapnel from the 9th company rained upon them.

Sean and Astor leaped from the MG nest and joined Allen and Ricky as they flung grenades at the hoard in hopes of stopping them. The body of one of the cops laid on the ground with a bullet through the neck but Allen and Ricky didn't notice him laying there next to them. The remaining cops fired what ammo they had left in their rifles before switching to their side arms as the hoard drew closer. The Abramovici twin's heavy armor bounced off the fire before them as they fired their machine guns at the hip while slowly pushing forward with the hoard.

"Last mag!" Allen shouted as he loaded the final magazine in his AKM.

"Where in the hell is that German!?" Astor yelled as he killed a clown masked con with his AKM.

"No idea!" Sean replied as the bullets from the twins focused on them...

The Mercenaries of the 9th Company held out for almost an hour... But the withering fire made it feel like decades...

They never gave up, even as the cops of the 13th Precinct were mowed down like grass to the Abramovici twins machine guns...

"OH GOD! RUN! RUN!" A few of the convicts shouted as a thunderous crash from the distance sent the column into disarray.

The Mercs looked up to see a large cloud of dust appearing from the far end of the street, sending rubble into the sky and raining upon the hoard.

"To late for that shite!" Sean yelled as rocks rained down from the heavens from the landmines delayed explosion.

Large vines broke through the streets and adjacent buildings and without warning grew into Venus fly traps, devouring the convicts that dared to come near them. Thorn covered vines sliced through the columns like a chainsaw, slicing the men in half.

The twins fired on the fly traps, but were soon pounced on by Karl and Harley Quinn...

They didn't last long against the Clown princes of Crime and the Black Hunter...

The remaining convicts were devoured by Poison Ivy's plants, watering them with the war blood of a defeated army. The mercenaries cheered as the plants finished off the stragglers and soon rejoined Karl and Harley as they cleaned the green stains off of their cloths. But the celebrations were cut short as the sound of sirens echoed all around Arkham City.

"Clear out." Karl told the 9th Company as he turned to face the theater with Harley next to him. As the merc's dispersed, Karl and Harley walked slowly to the theater expecting the sight of Batman hauling the Joker out in hand cuffs.

Batman did appear from battle ground of the Monarch Theatre... But instead of two men walking out, Only one appeared...

In his arms was the Joker, laying motionless in his hands...

The Joker was dead...

Harley fell to her knees, he mind cracked in half at the sight before her. It was to much for her... She simply shut down...

But Karl only laughed... He laughed a hearty laugh as Batman carried his mortal enemy in his arms as the sun rose in the east...


	14. Chapter 13: Turning Point

_**OK So I said fuck it to 'DNA Crossroads' and extended this story to include Harley Quinn's revenge DLC**_

_**ANYWAYS: Thank you so much for everything!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**GCPD Headquarters, Gotham City, One week after the closing of Arkham City**_

Karl and Batman walked down the halls of the new Gotham City Police Headquarters toward the special holding cells where some of the more dangerous criminals where being held until Arkham Asylum was cleared from Poison Ivy's attack last year. The two men walked side by side until they reached the security door to the special holding cells where Karl stopped him to have a little chat with him.

"Bruce," Karl said in a rather brotherly tone. "You know you didn't kill him. Why are you blaming yourself for his own undoing?"

Batman shrugged him off and open the door to the holding cells. But Karl continued as they passed by the cells for Two-face and Penguin. "All I am saying is, there is no point worrying about something you can't change. You didn't kill him and yet your acting as if you were the one to take him to St. Peter himself!"

"Karl!" Bruce hissed as they passed by Calendar man and Hush, "Quiet!"

Karl turned Batman around and got in his face, "Be proud of yourself... Because if I was there in that pit... I would have savored the moment for all the hell he gave to Ms. Quinnzel... But no... You were the better man..."

He backed away from him and took the lead for far cell near the end of the holding area, "You always were..." Karl whispered as he turned with Batman toward the final cell where Harley Quinn sat in an orange Arkham jumpsuit.

Her back was turned toward large safety glass with her face buried in her hand sobbing. The cell walls were covered with crude drawings of the Joker and Her, Joker rising from the grave, and pictures of Karl and Batman hanging from nooses...

"She's gone" Karl whispered to him as he slowly turned away from glass. "The lights are on, but no one is home."

"Where do you think YOU'RE GOING?!" Harley growled as she threw herself against the glass with her eyes full of hate.

"On second thought," Karl said as returned to Batman's side. "Someone is home. How are you doing Harleen?"

Harley's gaze burned with fiery rage, oozing through the glass and onto Karl and Bruce. "HOW DARE YOU COME HERE?! AND YOU... YOU KILLED MY... MY... Puddin..." Harley threw herself to the floor her eyes are blind with streaming tears and she cries for all to hear: "YOU KILLED HIM..."

"Harleen I never-" Batman plead to his beloved Harlequin.

"DON'T CHA YA DARE LIE TO ME! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS! BOTH OF YOUSE! BOTH OF YOUSE ARE GONNA PAY FOR TAKING MY LIFE AWAY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs until her voice began to wheeze.

"Harleen, I didn't kill him! I could never kill him!" Batman responded. But Karl only chuckled...

The talk and long coated figure of Karl Dael laughed and laughed until a large smile took over his face. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his coat and began to smoke openly in holding cell before turning around to walk out of the holding area.

Batman pulled his cowl back enough for Harley to see his face, his real face. "Harleen you know me, you REALLY know me, I couldn't kill him. He would have won if I did... You know this... Please my love..."

In the eyes of his Harlequin was hate... Hate and sorrow... The two emotions that drove him to the cape and cowl. She had lost everything. EVERYTHING. This was the lowest point a human being could come fall to...

Harleen's life was in shamble, almost burnt and unrecognizable by the standards of the civilized world. Now Harley's life was at the same stage... With the Joker gone, Harley's life was nothing... It was over... The ride had stop and Harley was forced to get off...

Everything she had, wither it was Harleen or Harley, was gone... All of it was gone...

She was at the crossroads of wither she was going to change for the better or change for the worse. Bruce knew this road, it was a lonesome road, a long, beaten, and lonesome road...

He walked the road when he was only boy, but he had some guidance from friends and what family he had. He had people who loved him who CARED for him and his well being. People who wanted him to rise to the light instead of sinking into the slim... The heart of the Dark Knight bled for Harley Quinn in this moment of her life... He wanted to save her once more, to mend what was broken... To finally make it right for all the times he didn't save her, for all the times he should have stopped the madness himself. Harleen was still in there... and he wanted to get her back...

But beyond that he saw something that made his skin crawl... Something that truly filled his stomach full of disgust... Something that they shared with the Joker...

Bruce shared even more in common with the Harlequin God seemed to have forsaken this faithful night. They saw something in each other neither one of us liked, or maybe they were just looking in the mirror. He placed his hand on the glass in hopes of reaching the woman he loved under the vexed Harlequin.

Her blue eyes burned with rage and drowned in sorrow, but deep beyond that Harleen cried to him and Bruce could almost hear her calling to him... Her eyes broke contact with him for only a slit second to his hand before she threw herself to the floor and rapped herself into ball. Sobbing quietly to herself as she tried wishing away all the pain...

Bruce put his cowl on, but didn't stop gazing at his Harlequin as she laid on the cold concrete floor crying.

"I won't give up on you Harleen..." He whispered as he slowly walked away, bottling up the tears as he walks away to join the Black Hunter as he shared cigarettes with the Penguin.

"Are we done here?" Karl asked him as he lit the Penguin's cigarette. "Cobblepot has me thinking of a tall one. The boy and I might head to a bar before they ship out to Bosnia. You want a drink before I leave?"

Bruce said nothing and walked out of the holding area without a word. "Suit yourself." Karl said as he followed him as GSPD staff came with tonight's meal.

"We ain't done pretty boy..." Harley growled as she walked to her bed and retrieved the Mauser pistol Karl gave to her in the Theater as the staff came closer. "Not by a long shot..."

* * *

_**Two weeks after the closing of Arkham City- Downtown Gotham**_

Karl sat down in a ragged recliner chair in his old apartment in Downtown Gotham. The apartment was old and decrepit from years of neglect by its former owners, Owners who were sentenced to Arkham City for the crime of building the now torn down bremer walls of the former mega prison and murdered during Protocol 10. It was cheap and Karl preferred it that way, not to mention that owner of the apartment complex was a former Political Prisoner who was saved by Karl and his men and almost gave him the apartment for the price of only twenty dollars a month for rent.

The wall paper was falling off the walls, the carpet was stained, and the air conditioner was broken leaving the room colder than the arctic circle.

But the Black Hunter would not have it any other way...

He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a long sleeved black button up shirt under a dark brown leather jacket to keep him warm. The thick wool socks on his feet kept his feet warm in the freezing apartment. His tall Jackboots sat near the door shining in the light of the lamp and candle light as he sat near an open window shining his remaining Mauser pistol.

The heavy framed Mauser C96 pistol was plated with blackened metal until reaching the peal white grips on the 'Broom-handle' pistol grip. The pistol itself once belonged to Karl's sister, Shelia Dael, before he murdered her and his brother, Rodrick Dael, during the chaos leading up to Protocol 10. It was once a gift he gave to his sister for joining him and his late brother in the world of private military contracting.

But being a coward under Karl's command never ended up well in the end...

On the coffee table was his gun belt, holsters, magazines of ammo, a cup of coffee, and his black Panzer cap along with the TV remote. He turned the TV up to listen to another news report on the findings with in Arkham City. For weeks following the closing of Arkham City by the GCPD the media was having a feast at the number of stories coming out of Arkham. From conspiracies, mind control, secret deals, genocidal plans, and the crem de la crem The death of the Joker.

For the last two weeks the stories clogged up all forms of media coming out of Gotham and Metropolis. It was crazy to Karl to see how little they knew about what was going on in that corner of the city that God seemed to forsaken, but he couldn't help the fact that THEY weren't there.

'_They should have known better than to put some of the most cunning villains together in the same pond.' _Karl thought to himself as he cleaned his beloved handgun. _'You put three alpha males together in a pack they will fight for dominance. It's a simple law of nature. But what can you expect from these 'Progressive' thinkers and tinkerers.'_

"In other news," Vicky Vale reported as the screen flip to a scene of the old Sionis Steel Mill in Arkham City. "Harley Quinn has resurfaced after the death of her boyfriend, The notorious Joker, at the Sionis Steel Mill after weeks of evading capture from the Gotham police department. Sources in the ruins of Arkham inform us here at the station that the now reunited Joker gang is in possession of numerous heavy weapons, explosives, and hostages. Gotham City Police has the Steel mill on lock down, but can not enter the mill due to collapsed bridges brought about by Quinn's gang. Harley Quinn has not issued any demands so far-"

Karl took his mind off the TV and put the rag down with a sigh. "You just couldn't move on could you Harls?" He said with a disappointed sigh as he loaded a magazine into the pistol. "You should have went with Bruce... You should have taken the right path... But no..."

He chambered a round in his Mauser and put on his gun belt and cap. "But I guess you just can't break old habits, eh?"

A knock at the door caught his attention as he put his gun in his holster. He made his way to the door and put on his boots before looking through the peep hole to see three goons dressed in strange red and black combat fatigues and face paint with tear drops.

Karl looked over at the television and back to the door. The shots from the helicopter cameras showed the steel mill locked down by about one hundred heavily armed men wearing the same red and black outfits, Harley Quinn's signature colors.

"Hmmm..." Karl thought to himself as the sight of heavily armed men guarding the steel mill. "Bruce might be there already... After all, he was the one who saw the Joker keel over... But-"

The goons broke down the door and stormed into Karl's apartment with rifles in hand. Karl stayed against the wall, drew his pistol, and killed two out of the three goons. The third was spared and dropped his gun promptly on the ground before throwing his hands over his head in surrender.

"I dropped it! I dropped it!" He screamed as Karl drew closer with pistol in hand.

"Pick it up." Karl ordered him to much of the thug's confusion.

The thug looked up as Karl put the pistol in his holster and picked him up by the collar to his feet. "Pick it up!" Karl said, pointing to the G-36K on the ground.

The thug picked up the assault rifle as Karl put his hand behind his back, "Take me to her..." Karl said as the thug escorted him out at gunpoint to a van waiting down stares with three other gun totting thugs awaited.

"Hey! Where are the other two?!" One shouted to the guy holding Karl at gun point.

"What do you think smart guy?" Karl asked sarcastically as a rifle butt knocked him out and threw his body into the back of the van...

* * *

_**Meanwhile in the Steel Mill-**_

Harley watched as her thugs carried off Batman to the shrine room with a wicked smile on her face. Her attire turned to the color of her soul, or rather Harley's soul, dark black and red, as did the color of her once golden blond hair. She was moaning the death of her 'puddin' and decided to take it out on the world and the man who 'Caused' it.

But she couldn't just off the Bat...

No...

Mr. J wouldn't want that... Harleen wouldn't allow it...

The round in her custom gun was only a stun round, something she picked up from Deadshot's bag of tricks she found when exploring the GCPD arms locker. Harleen must have put it in before she came out today and Harley didn't know about it.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Harley screamed into the emptiness of her mind.

_'He didn't kill him!' _Harleen scowled. '_He couldn't kill anyone! Not even that fucking clown you lov-'_

Harley reached into her pocket and pulled out a special collection of pills she swiped from the doctor's office before breaking out. The pills were used to calm her psychosis down, but Harley changed the prescription to Two-face's prescription of anti-duality pills. It couldn't stop Harleen for existing, but it did shut her up long enough for Harley to do whatever her broken mind and heart wanted...

She watched the thugs drag him pass the door toward the shrine room with a smile, but something ate at her soul as she watched the lifeless body being dragged across the ground.

'This... This isn't...' She quickly popped another pill to quell any humanity Harleen may have had with her. But she still couldn't shake the feeling that she was doing the wrong thing...

Then she saw the mannequins of her and the Joker holding each other and all seemed right with the world. "I'm comin Mr. J." She said as tears ran her make up under the veil.


	15. Chapter 14: The Killing Joke

_**Once again, I think I goofed on the making of Crossroads so I decided to put it together with Part 2 since they are together in game. No use in separating them. Enjoy!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Steel Mill, Shipyard Base, One day After Batman and Karl's capture**_

Blind folded and bound with rope, Karl was shoved out of the back of the van by two of Harley's thugs and lead down a long open expanse of the Steel yard toward the Shipyard. He didn't struggle and followed every command of his captors, a rule Deathstroke taught him during infiltration, to make his life a little easier. Luckily for him, they did not frisk him down for weapons.

But Karl wasn't looking to kill everyone, not just yet, or maybe not at all...

A large grin came over his face to much of his captors disgust as they shoved him down toward a large steel security door near the far end of the steel mill. From the smell of gun oil and gun powered he was near the shipyard, the former storage area for the Joker gangs mountains of weapons given to them by Hugo Strange before Protocol 10. Some of the goons were nervous around him while other simply didn't know who he was. But the former members of the Penguins gang and those who escaped the claws of Poison Ivy's plants knew who the six foot tall Teuton in the tall boots and Panzer cap was...

"Hey! It's that freak Hans! What the hell does Harley want with him?" One thug asked his friend as the others marched him down the path.

"Harley says he's one of the reasons why the boss died." Another replied.

"I thought the Bat offed the Joker?"

"Yeah he did, but this creep kept Harley busy so she couldn't save him. Not to mention that he laughed once he saw the J-man's body..." Another replied with contempt.

"Bullshit Tony," The other replied, "I don't think this guy could even off a rat let alone Joker!"

"I've killed more men in a day than that Clown could have do in a year." Karl remarked.

"Shut up!" A thug shouted, hitting him in the stomach with a rifle butt.

"I'm coming for you once the bitch goofs this up shithead." Karl hissed as the sound of hydraulic actuators engaging signaled a large security door was in front of him.

The thugs laughed as one kicked him forward with enough force to throw him to the ground. His face hit the hard metal floor of a catwalk or scaffolding, imprinting the groves of metal surfaced floor in his cheek. The smell plasma cutters, rivet guns, welders, and marine fuel filled the air around him, 'Dry dock' Karl thought to himself as he was picked up by the collar and threw him to his knees.

"Take the blindfold off'em!" The growl of a pissed off Harley Quinn demanded as the goons pulled the blindfold off the Black Hunter.

Karl quickly looked around for escape routes, the locations of guards, and possible diversions, including the captured members of GCPD SWAT units captured yesterday. Slade taught him to well...

Harley smacked him with her large and unwieldy hand cannon, The 'Bat Killer', knocking him around breaking a couple of teeth. "That's right pretty boy, you betta get a good look at dis joint before ya DIE!" Harley growled as she turned him around to face her.

Her biker style outfit was splashed with black with only accents of red remaining. The once golden blonde hair and cheeky smile was replaced with iron black and an evil scowl. A veil covered her white painted face and under it were the black lips and black covered eyes of a mourning Harlequin.

Karl chuckled darkly at the sight before him until Harley delivered a swift kick to his jaw, "Stop fuckin laughing!" She screamed as she smacked him again with the 'Bat-killer'.

Another swipe with the hand cannon knocked Karl on to his side, his mouth oozing blood and broken teeth as he laughed at the sight before him. Harley couldn't understand it! Why was he laughing!? WHY?! She kicked him over onto his back and stepped on his chest, digging her heel into his solar plexus, the nerve center of the human body, and shoving the large comedic barrel of the 'Bat-Killer' in his face.

"You betta be glad that I need you later!" Harley said as she gave a dark grin to the three SWAT members her crew had captured the day before. "You too pal! And you! And you! AND B-MAN!"

"Please! The GCPD will storm this place. You'll all be killed!" One cop told Harley as she swaggered around with the large gun in her hand.

Karl spat blood onto Harley's boots from afar, "That crazy bitch doesn't care. But it's not the GCPD she should be worried about once I get out of these cuffs..."

"Really?" Harley asks in a sarcastic tone as she walks toward him. "I. DON'T. THINK. SO."

"Your crazy! You both are!" The Officer plead.

"No I'm in mourning, You ought REMEMBER THAT!" Harley scowled as she slapped him with the 'Bat-Killer'.

"More like fucking death wish." Karl remarked darkly as Harley threw him to his feet.

"Why ya talkin about ya self like that?" She said with a dark wide faced smile as she pressed him against the rail. "Don't cha realize that I'm the one with the gun here?!"

Karl chuckled once more as Harley slowly tried to pick him up to push him off the rail, "Your just acting out. PTSD does that to people... I should know.."

His face became serious and the wide faced smile wiped away. "It hurts, Losing a loved one, or, in your case, someone you thought you loved. But even you know he was worried more about himself than you, hell Harleen had to know that before you did. But let me lay a little something on you, little Harley, Something that my old man taught me a long time ago... 'You know, people say the most painful thing is losing the one you love in your life. The truth is son... The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone and at some point, you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart. But not in your life.'"

The words echoed in her mind just enough to awaken a bit of Harleen that wasn't effected by the medication she gave herself to whisper to Karl, "Your Right..." Before snapping back to mourning Harley, "SHUT UP!" She scream as she sucker punched him, knocking him to the ground once again.

"How dare you talk like that about Mr. J! How could you just laugh when that MURDERER carried him outta that theater!? HOW?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL!?" Harley shouted with fanatical passion as she delivered one swift kick after another to Karl's stomach and chest. But Karl only chuckled as she went on and on about how the Joker was a 'Good guy' and how he 'Wanted to show the world what it really was'. Only after that rant did she reach Batman, "And that Bat... THAT BAT hounded my Joker fur years till he finally had to guts to off'em! But I gotta plan... I gotta plan to avenge my Joker and get all the people who ever pissed him off back!"

Karl rolled onto his stomach as he chuckled and with his remaining breath shouted for all to hear, "And then those days man shall seek death, and shall not find it. And they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them."

The cops, the thugs, and Harley all turned to him as he howled like a mad man on the floor. "Do you know what that means for us, Harley?" Karl shouted to her. But she didn't respond as he brought himself to his feet.

"If you seek Death, if you long for death, and your only desire in life is to DIE. Then death will run from you, JUST LIKE YOUR JOKER!" Karl shouted in an almost demonic tone as he threw himself to his feet and got into Harley's face. "But when you seek life, if you long for it, and your only desire is to live. Then death will come to you... Death will seek you... Death. Will. END. YOU."

The distance between Harley and Karl's face could only be measured in centimeters. She had to look up to him, even if she was in heels, to stare him down. But she learned not to, or rather didn't want to, look into his eyes, Her time in the Suicide Squad made that very clear. His eyes were a beautiful green and he wasn't to bad to look at. But once she looked into his eyes, Really looked into them, she saw something she never wanted to see again...

It was death... Everything he looked at turned to death and there was no Joke or method to it, unlike Joker or Bruce Wayne. He just wanted everything to be destroyed. But his eyes seemed to hold more than that, after all she was still a psychologist, and just like Bruce's they had to be unlocked by him and him alone. His body language told a different story though... He didn't want to kill her, it seemed to her that all he wanted to do was just make a point to her...

"Isn't it Ironic?" He whispered to her.

Harley grew angry and swung her hand cannon at him once more. His long arms broke the handcuffs, blocked her attack, took Harley as a human shield, and fired her cannon and its heavy explosive shells at groups of her men surrounding them in the shipyard. Karl was quicker than Harley gave him credit for as he downed a majority of her guards. He threw her on the ground and drew his hidden Mauser pistol before leaping off the platform and into the darkness of the shipyard. The mourning Harlequin leaped to her feet as fast as she could to try and find the bastard, but he was gone...

A high pitched scream echoed through the shipyard as the Black Hunter escaped into the darkness...

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

Karl ran into threw the security doors and into the open air of the industrial park. The odor of molten metal, rotten eggs, and decaying bodies left in the snow filled his nostrils as cold winds raced between tall towers and buildings around the steel mill. He took a big whiff of the air around him to savior the stench of the last battle that ran through the streets of Arkham City. The smell of aircraft fuel, gunpowder, and rocket motors from TYGER's American made helicopters still lingered throughout the city like the disgusting odor of an infected wound, a wound that the retched city of Gotham could never live down.

Arkham City was the retched after birth of Gotham's darkest nightmares...

It's hard to comprehend that amount of shortsightedness on the behalf of the Gotham City board that something such as this Gulag could even exist... But then he remembers the reason why behind it all, "Fear. Fear is one of the only motivators in this world anymore besides the all mighty dollar."

The sound of heavy foot steps echoed through the yard alerting Karl to the presents of a patrol coming toward the door. The voices of the men echoed through the industrial park as their weapons clinked and clanked against their combat webbing.

'_Three men... Two men and one young man...' _Karl thought to himself as he dived into the cover of a destroyed TITAN container.

"So we got the bat now, right?" One thug said to another, shoving the younger one aside. The two older thugs wore uniforms like Penguins gang, red and black accented camouflage trousers and thick red winter coats. While the younger wore a whole set piece tiger striped uniform with accented red and black in place of green and black, Tale boots like Karl's, a crusher cap with a red diamond at the peak, Harley Quinn face paint, and a FN FAL with a folding stock cradled in his arms like a child.

"Yeah. But what about Robin or that crazy fucker Hans?" The other thug asked.

"We got the Black Hunter." The younger one replied. '_Ricky... My friend...' _Karl thought to himself as he watched the two older thugs took lead leaving Ricky along at the back of the pack. "Maybe she'll keep him with the bat in-"

"Psshh! 'Black Hunter', more like another nut with a gun. At least that Red Hood fucker isn't here to join'em." Said the thug rudely.

"He don't look that tough." His friend remarked. "Why does Harley want that giant?"

"From what she says he laughed at J's body when the bat carried him outta the theater." Ricky added as he tried to catch up the other two.

"I heard he killed J..."

"No way!" The other replied. "No one but the bat could have killed J!"

Ricky tried to reply, but was thrown into the darkness by Karl who greeted him with a Mauser pistol to the face. "Scream and I won't make this easy Rick." Karl remarked to Ricky as he threw his hand over his mouth.

"Hans?" Ricky asked under his muffled mouth.

"Just a fake name." Karl remarked to him as he took his hand off the boy's mouth. "Name's Karl. I'm a friend of the Frenchman. But pleasantries can wait, Where they keeping the bat?"

"I... I..." Ricky shuddered. "I don't know. Harley said she was keeping him in a special room here at the mill. Maybe the shrine room, I don't know."

"Hmm..." Karl thought as he looked around the corner at the two men walking away. "Maybe they know... You gotta knife or a knuckle duster?"

Ricky fiddled with his sides until remembering the special gift Astor gave to him before he left the Steel Mill, "Will this work?" He asked as he handed Karl a trench knife, a double sided dagger with spiked brass knuckles and a glass breaker at the end of the handle, from his boot.

Karl took the knife in his hand and gazed on it with wonder and appreciation, "Finally, Someone with some class in this town." He said as he saw the Deathshead on the grip as he slid his hands into the knuckles of the grip.

"Keep it!" Ricky said enthusiastically as the tall Stormtrooper stood up.

"Gladly." Karl remarked as he looked back over to the two men slowly paroling the way. "Rick, how well do you know the steel mill?"

"Pretty well, why?" Ricky asked him.

"Your coming with me and I'm getting you out of here. Kid like you shouldn't be here with these guys." Karl told him in a fatherly tone as he crouched down near the wall. "I'm going to take these guys... Watch my back..."

Before Ricky could reply Karl had quickly crouched through the shadows and was only a few feet from the thugs. Ricky turned toward the opposing side with his FAL at the ready as he tried to block out the image of Karl slicing the throats of his comrades...

"Why?..." Ricky asked himself as the muffled screams of his comrades dissipated behind him.

"Rick." Karl said, putting his hand on his shoulder scaring the boy.

"Wha!" Ricky startled, jumping to his feet.

"Calm down. The boys are gone." Karl said, pointing to where the bodies were stashed. "How do we get in the Mill without getting anymore unwanted attention?"

"Uhmm... Uh..."

"Spit it out!" Karl told him firmly as picked the young Ricky off his knees and to his feet.

"The front door or maybe the rear entrance," Ricky replied as he tried to regain his composure. "But Harley has the mill on lock down and the same with the Shipyard. She got some guys holding the security cards if you want to get back in there."

"Will they know where the bat is?" Karl asked as he looked up into the large towers to see the out line of high caliber sniper rifles in the hands of Harley's snipers.

"Maybe." He said with firmness. "They're some of Harley's best. They should know something..."

Karl pat the boy on his back, a signal to follow him, as he crept through the shadows with his new friend at his side.


	16. Chapter 15: Honest Heart

_**So this chapter is purely about Harley and Harleen. Some Barley bits as well as some more stuff to really get the feel for the story. Read and Review! Thanks!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner **_

* * *

_**Harley's Loft-**_

The mourning Harlequin threw herself onto her bed, her large empty bed... The bed she and the Joker, mostly her, would lay in at night to grab as many hours as they could before the street fighting and the war for Arkham city caught up with them. When the Joker was weaker they would lay in bed together until either the Joker got tired of her, wanting to toy with Scarface, screw with the F.N.G's (Fucking New Guy), or screw with her out of pure fucking meanness. It wasn't until the steady stream of doctors and Harley's personally tailored care program for the Clown Prince of Crime brought him back to semi operable health, sleep became non-existent or an ultra rare luxury for 'General Joker' as the Arkham war heated up with the introduction of Batman into the fray.

The bed spread was her trade mark Black and Red colors with matching pillows with either red or black diamond on the face of the pillow. It was one of the only things she had left to remember him by, or at least still retained the odor of the Joker. She rapped herself into a ball and laid on the bed on J's side of the bed. The night he did sleep would always be a treasure to Harley as the Joker would always giggle in his sleep. It was something that she could never forget...

As she laid in the bed she could feel a wet spot on the cover, something that drove her as far as throwing the nearest object against a wall and screaming "WHO DID THIS TO MY PUDDIN'S BED!?" Before realizing that the wet spot was from her own tears.

"Oh Mistah J," Harley asked as she threw her head back into the puddle of tears. "What am I gonna do without you?"

'_Your pathetic_...'Harleen grumbled as Harley's broken and distraught mind in visioned her before her in Blackgate coat and red and black dress. '_You shoot Bruce and now you brought that Psycho Karl here? All so you can try and kill us all? That crazy tool you brought here might as well kill us and Bruce too while he's at it!'_

"I just wanna be with Mistah J again..." Harley sobbed as he laid in a bed made with her own pity.

'_He's dead sweetie. He's finally gone... For good this time... Once and for all.' _Harleen said with a smile as the words seemed to lift the years of weight off her shoulders.

"He's dead because of the Bat!" Harley screamed as she shot up from the bed and to the floor. "That stupid Bat killed him and if it wasn't for that fucking wanna be in the coat, I would've saved MISTAH J!"

His name sent her to tears as she fell to the floor sobbing, asking God or the Gods why did they take the Joker from her. Harleen rolled her eyes and walked toward the workbench where the Joker would build his various gag toys of discourse and opened a box marked 'Harleen Quinnzel' written on the front of it in red paint.

Inside the box were Harleen's diplomas, gifts from Bruce, and some trinkets she had before becoming Harley Quinn. It was a box Harley, or rather Harleen unconsciously controlling Harley, kept as a reminding of who she was before the Joker. Though his grip was still very strong on her in the beginning, Harleen tried to keep her whits about her and her shadow side under control. So she made this box as a way of reminding her who she really was under the make up and gag toys.

She sifted through the various pictures of herself and her friends before going to Blackgate as an intern for Hugo Strange until coming across a picture of Her and Bruce Wayne at the Iceberg lounge together. A mutual friend of Bruce's, Dick Grayson, took the picture for them that night before they departed for her apartment. It seemed like that moment was only happened yesterday... His smiling, his eyes, his arm draped around her, her hand dancing toward his crotch...

'_It was magical..._' Harleen said to herself as she remembered that wonderful night. But besides the bed breaking sex, Bruce and Harleen truly had chemistry. The conversations ranged from medicine to psychology, music to politics, and others without a single awkward moment between the two of them. It was then that she found her soul mate and the man she wanted to spend her life with.

The giggling track of Joker's laughter shattered her nostalgia as a Television replied a clip of the Joker laughing. The former psychiatrist grind her teeth in almost homicidal rage as she tried to fight the anger laying under the calm exterior of Harleen Quinnzel.

She took a deep breath and tried to block out the sound of the heckling as she dug deeper into her box and traveled farther down memory lane. Digging deeper into the box she came across a strange item rapped green rag at the bottom of box.

She picked up the item and pulled the rag off to reveal the nickle plated Mauser Pistol Karl handed her in the theater two weeks ago. She never fired the large framed pistol during the battle for the Monarch Theater, Mainly because she didn't know how to work the 118 year old pistol or why she would even need it. After all she was more than capable of using a rifle, albeit with the same skill as a child solider in Uganda, and her hand to hand wasn't something to laugh at since she trained with Catwoman during her time with the Sirens.

Why would he, A man who was better trained, better built, and knew how to use this Retro throwback, give this beast of a hand cannon to her without even a quick run down on how to us it?

Why would he give her his personal arm? The pistol that he carried long before he joined the Suicide Squad?

'_He wanted this to happen...' _

The realization was harsh, but it was his way. Karl wasn't evil but he wasn't good either, he was grey yet his view of the world was either Black or White. Left or Right.

Life or Death...

But with Karl, there was always something deeper behind him and his choices...

Harleen looked over the pistol until finding the bolt and pulling it back. One bullet ejected from the pistol, a 9mm Hollow point bullet in a steel case. The bolt locked back, the obvious sign of an empty weapon.

'_One bullet?' _Harleen wondered as she picked the round off the ground. '_I guess you doubted me.' _

She looked over her shoulder to see Harley still laying on the bed crying in her ball of pity. '_Well found doubt at that...' _

Harleen loaded the round into the gun, dodging the bolt as it flew forward almost clipping her finger, and walked toward the mourning Harley Quinn as she sobbed on the bed.

"I wish I was dead..." Harley whispered to herself as the gun landed near her puddle of tears.

'_Do it.' _The dark voice of Karl echoed in place of Harleen's as she disappeared back into Harley.

Harley sprang up from the bed and looked around the loft to see that she was alone. No one else was around her...

'He's getting to me...' She remarked as she picked up the unwieldy pistol in her tear covered hands. Harley shoved the pistol in her belt and wiped the tears from her eyes as she tried to regain her composure.

"Harley!" One of the thugs cried over the intercom statues of herself.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Harley growled into the intercom.

"That crazy fu-" Ripping flesh and crushed bone silenced the Thug as the radio shifted hands over to another.

"You can't kill me..." The cold and dark voice of Karl Dael at the other end replied. "Where's my gun?"

"Your luck is gonna run out soon freak! Your dead when I find you!" Harley shouted as she threw her fist against the intercom in a rage.

"_Ja Ja, _lets keep our fingers crossed." Karl remarked sarcastically, taking the wind out of Harley's sails. "Where's my gun?"

Harley looked toward the big iron on hip giving her a dark smile, "Yeah... I got your little hand cannon. What cha gonna do bout it?" She taunted him.

"You really want to play that game?" Karl asked her only to hear her giggling on the other end.

"What? You afraid that I'm gonna whoop your ass with your own toy gun? God this thing is so old it's shootin dust bunnies!" Harley giggled.

"I would hate to have to kill ya Harls. What would the big bad bat do if another one of his more colorful birds has her feathers plucked by the hunter?" Karl remarked with sly tone as the sound of sliding metal doors echoed in the background of his transmission.

"You wouldn't dare touch him! Or- Or me! You won't fucking touch me!" Harley said as her face began to blush for the first time in weeks in embarrassment.

"Aww! Is little Harley worried about her Dark Knight?" Karl taunted her.

"Ssshhu- Shut. UP!" She screamed, breaking the head of the statue with her fist. "I want you and him and that whole bat family dead for all the shit they've done to me and Mistah J over the years! I'm gonna blow ya all sky high!"

"Sounds to me like you don't want me to hurt your beloved Bat. But that plan seems to have gone up in smoke, Your bombs are kaput and right now I'm looking at a bat in a ball in the hands of a mad man made by a mad woman. Hey Rick, see if you can get that big fucking hand down here so I can let my friend out of that damn ball before that crazy bitch blows us all asunder." Karl replied to much of Harley's dismay and anguish as she took a PDA out of her pocket to check the status of her bombs.

All but one was defused, but the remaining bomb in the shrine to the Joker was still active. A sigh of relief let loose all of her stress, but the jaws of the defeat were closing in on the mourning Harlequin.

'_Great plan Harley,' _Harleen remarked sarcastically. '_Build a few crater shakers, put them in the mill, and try to kill you, Bruce, and that warmonger Karl in one last attempt to be with that clown? We're better off using that bullet he gave us to...'__  
_

Harley reached into her pocket to pop another pill to shut her up, to only discover that it was only half of one. She popped the pill into her mouth and soon the nagging, truth filled, voice of her better half finally stopped for the moment. But one thing still echoed through her mind as she made her way out of the loft and toward the shrine room as the heavy pistol on her belt knocked against her hip.

What happens if this plan of hers fails and Karl kills Bruce? What will happen to her? Or is this another trick of his?


	17. Chapter 16: Crossroads (Contains Lemon)

_**Ladies and Gentlemen! I bring you the last official chapter of Part 2 and then the epilogue! I really hope you enjoy this chapter as it is full of Violence, Dark themes, references to 'The Killing Joke' Graphic novel, Arkham Unhinged, and finally the long awaited 'Lemon' I wanted to add. **_

_**God, DNA just has everything doesn't it? Haha!**_

_**Enjoy and Remember to read and review!**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

_**Shrine Room-**_

Harley drew her Bat killer and Karl's Mauser as she entered the shrine room. The gigantic storage room was transformed into a gigantic testimony to the delusion of Harley Quinn complete with a crude rendition of her beloved Joker constructed out of oil drums and scrap iron surrounded by hundreds of stolen church candles.

A cold draft from the harsh Gotham winter flew through the sky lights tossing around the wet front pages of several Daily Planet news papers with the head line 'Joker is dead' written in bold with a picture of the Dark Knight walking away from body of the Joker on the hood of a GCPD cruiser. Snow melted on the concrete floor until a thin sheet of black ice began to form on top of her various depressed and manic episodes over the last week of hell following the media frenzy's renewed offensive on the death of the Joker following her escape from Blackgate.

She held back her tears as she walked on toward the steps of the Joker statue. The idol sat upon a makeshift thrown with his hands coveting a massive sphere like chamber holding her captive, Batman, in his rusty clutches. The blue eyes of the mourning harlequin gleamed in the fading light of the candles as another light gust sent shivers down her spine as she set one foot on the first stair.

Harley stopped in place and looked toward the ball where the Dark Knight, the man who never took the life of another, the man who helped her throughout her life as Harley Quinn, the man who she saw as destroyer of her almost care free life, sat as if he was a monk from the orient. Her eyes turned to the cruel child like drawings on the wall of the Joker rising out of a coffin with a wicked smile and soon to a caricature of the revived Joker killing Batman with her holding hands with the clown prince of crime. Tears streamed down her face, running her make up once more, as the flash backs to the good old days played through her head just like at the Monarch theater.

But as she took the second steps, her mind seemed to clear out the memories of the 'Good old days' and replace them with cruel truth... Nothing is more cruel than a memory, especially the memories of the physical and mental abuse the Joker brought to her over the years. Though the wounds have healed on the outside, on the inside they are still fresh. Just buried under years of lies, seduction, and out right mind games brought about by the Joker. Her pride and ego were dashed and replaced with scorn as she looked up toward the shit eating grin on the face of the memorial.

"Ironic isn't it?" A voice startled her, causing her to turn and fire with the Bat killer into the darkness behind her.

"Nice try, but that doesn't answer my question. Ironic isn't it?" The deep voice paired back to her as she searched around her for the source.

"Show yourself chicken!" Harley shouted as she fired her Bat killer into the dark corners of the shrine room. "You scared of a little defenseless girl Karl?!"

"Irony is just as cruel as the truth. But you would rather live in your flight of fantasy rather than face the harsh reality of the matter." Karl replied as Harley fired in all directions wildly. "You know that the Bruce couldn't have killed the Joker, It would have been to easy. It wouldn't be him... As for myself, It seems I'm the only one who got the fucking joke."

Harley pulled the trigger until the massive cannon clicked empty. A loud scream let out from the Harliquinn's heart as she tossed the large gun into the shadows and drew Karl's Mauser. "Come at me! Come get me so I can finish you off!" She screamed as she stepped onto to the final step at the bottom of the monument with her back toward the Joker statue.

She scanned around the room with the heavy framed Mauser at the ready to kill the man who dared to laugh at her suffering. Once he was dead, then no could stop her from killing Batman and bringing her back to her Puddin...

"Harleen." Karl whispered to her as his large hand graced her shoulder. She quickly turned around on the ball of her heel ready to gun down the Black Hunter with his own gun. But as she swung around, Karl forced the pistol out of her hand and pushed her down the stairs. A loud thud echoed through the shrine as she hit the icy ground below.

"Psh. You were always the one for poise." Karl snickered as he gazed up on his nickle plated Mauser in his hand. "But you always a good maid. Speaking of which, I love what you did to the shipyard by the way. Your men look rather dashing in their uniforms, but they were glad to hear that this was over. Or was that the gold in the vault Professor Strange is promised them. Whatever it may be, your plan is kaput."

Harley lifted her head up high from the ground with an arrogant smirk, "You sure about that Dumb-ass?"

Karl chuckled and pulled a collection of wires and a fuse from his jacket pocket, "The other two are done for and the statue is deactivated. I must say I expected better from you than to use such low grade fuses and cheap wire. Usually the Joker is a little more creative with his bomb making, but I guess that didn't rub off on you over these years."

He tossed the fuses and wires on the ground as he steps down the stairs toward her with Mauser in hand. "You gonna off me and the bat? Go ahead! Fucking do it!" Harley fought back as she scooted back on the icy ground with her elbows.

The eyes of the black hunter narrowed on her, as did the long barrel of the nickle plated Mauser as it gleamed in the dying candle light. But he said nothing...

"What are ya, Chicken? I got nuthin left to loose! My Joker- My Joker..." Harley started to sob as she continued to claw on her back away from him. She broke down in tears once more, stopping her in her tracks for Karl to close in until his heavy boots were only an inch away from her face. The barrel of the gun was only arms length away from her face looming and taunting her. If she wasn't so broken and distraught, she could have taken the gun from him and finished him off once and for all.

"Nothing left to loose..." Karl in a low melancholy tone. "Nothing else matters, Nothing left to loose, It don't mean a thing... It don't mean a god damn thing. Your at the very level I was when my wife was killed, The very lowest level of your being. Some people would ask, "How does it feel?" But I know how it feels to have someone you love taken from you by a cruel twist of fate. But, unlike myself, You have someone else who loves you, who cares for, and will do anything for you no matter what the cost my be. I had people like that, but they were cowards."

His voice held no hostility or even signs of hostility or hate for that matter. Though his stance and the gun in her face told a different story, his eyes and tone showed pity for the mourning Harlequin. Something that rather unnerved her as Karl was not known for showing any form of mercy toward his enemies, let alone pity.

"You mean Diesel and Erika? What did you do to'em?" Harley asked in a awkward tone as her tears began to dry out.

"I killed them, Harley. Just like I did to my wounded wife all those years ago." Said Karl with regret. "I could have listened to them and gone about my way without taking my revenge against Ra's al Ghul for pushing me to the brink. I could have taken my wife to the doctor and tried to save her. But I went the way of the true me, the darkness that looms with in us all, the animal who is willing to do anything to survive... The monster who kills the innocent with the guilt... The path I took will always end with destruction and death and it will always lead me to more of the same. But it don't mean a thing, does it? Your not gonna listen to me. After I leave this town, this world, your just gonna do it again. Your gonna keep on keeping on with a big iron at your hip and a smile on your face till the bat is dead, aren't ya? Not able to face it, are ya? Too painful to think about? Not now at least... So forget about it."

He threw the gun onto her chest, "Fuck it. Take this shit and shove it. Nothing I do, say, or preach makes a difference anyways. So put it in the back of your mind till another day. Cause it don't mean a thing, does it? Just couldn't handle it, could you? So you walked away. Fraught with a lonely stare of dismay  
Repressed it...denied it...Sick of it...belied it. Pushed it down somewhere in the back of reality. Crammed down a crack of the last vestige of sanity. In order to go on doing what you were doing... Heartsick from the unbearably painful sights. But it don't mean a thing, does it? All that matters now is vengeance right? Getting that sweet revenge for the dead clown eh?"

Karl walked over to the lever to the statue, "But you only have one bullet in that gun. Which means your gotta make a decision..." He pulled the lever sending the ball down crashing to the ground and freeing Batman from his state of stasis.

"Kill me, Kill the bat, or Kill yourself." Karl told her as he helped Batman to his feet. "Three ways, Harley, Three ways to end this game."

"Karl... Whats going on?" Bruce asked him as Harley took to her feet with gun in hand.

"The usual. But don't worry, Bombs are done for, cops are safe, and every thug has been put into the hands of the GCPD. But it don't mean a thing." Karl told him as Harley aimed the gun toward them, lying about the thugs. "Gave her three ways out, Kill me, you, or herself.

"Harleen!" Bruce called to Harley. "You don't have to do this! Put the gun down!"

"This is what you wanted Harley! I gave it to you! Now pick! Pick before I do it for you!" Karl shouted as he drew his own Mauser pistol. Bruce attacked Karl, aiming to disarm him. The two giants muscled for the gun to even the field, but they were evenly matched in strength and drew to a stand still...

'What do I do? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!' Harley plead to herself, only to have her screams echoing back to her in the depth of her mind and soul. She hoped Harleen would reply with another sarcastic, yet truthful, response. But only silence came to her...

The gun was heavy in her hand and she struggled to keep the gun steady as she watched Batman and Karl fighting for the gun.

'Harleen! HAAARRRRLLLLEEEENNNNN! I need you! I need you- I need you- I NEED YOU! Please help me!' Harley plead to her other side as she switched between Karl and Bruce in the sights.

"I can't do this... I can't do this..." Harley whispered as she tried to pull her arm in to take the last way out. The only way out... If there wasn't a Joker, then there could be no Harley Quinn...

One bullet...

One life...

'_There is another way...' _Harleen replied as the vision of her former self appeared before her, aiding her holding the gun. '_We don't need the clown to make our choices for us anymore, We make our own path now.'_

'But what do we do Harleen?' Harley asked her better half.

'_You reap what you sow, Harley. You gotta do more than act on impulse. That's what Karl did, he followed his hate instead of his heart and mind. Remember what he said about you?' _Harleen told her.

'He called me a wild card...' Harley respond in a confused tone. 'What does that mean?'

_'It means your unpredictable. So do the unpredictable!' _Harleen told her before going back into Harley.

Harley reassured herself, tighten her grip on the pistol, took aim, and fired...

The bullet hit Karl's hand, knocking the pistol out of his hand and putting some distance between him and Batman. His wound healed fast as if nothing happened, but Harley stood fast and charged toward Karl to deliver a swift kick to the side of his face. Knocking him to the side for her to deliver a swift combo of punches and kicks until he finally staggered to the ground against the mural of Her and the Joker killing Batman.

He propped himself against the wall under the mural as Harley Quinn drew near. She was tough and, surprisingly, skilled! But Karl wasn't trying... He wanted to test her one more time...

As she drew toward him, he slipped the trench knife from his boot just enough for Harley to spot it. She swiped it from his boot, just like he wanted, and pressed the blade against his throat.

"I should have had more faith in you Harley..." Karl sneered as the cold blade of the knife pressed against his throat. "I didn't know I would find death so quickly."

Harley growled as she pressed the blade tighter against the Black Hunter's throat. Bruce put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't."

"Why shouldn't I?" Harley snapped without taking her gaze off the Hunter.

"Because everyone has a chance at redemption. Even the Joker was given a chance..." Bruce told her in a heartfelt voice.

She turned her head toward him but kept the blade pressed firmly against his throat. "When did you ever give J. a chance?" Harley said in Batman like gruff.

"It happen a year before you turned into Harley Quinn." Bruce said as he removed his cowl. "After he crippled Commissioner Gordon's Daughter, Barbra, and kidnap the commissioner himself for another estrange plan of his. I chased him toward the outskirts of the amusement park he had commandeered days before hand... But instead of beating him to a pulp... We talked to one another... Talked about the path that would inevitable come to that fateful night in the Theater. I gave him a chance, a chance to rehabilitate him, a chance to help him, a chance to stop this game of ours from continuing on. But he refused, saying that he was to far gone to be saved."

Harley took the blade off of Karl's throat and stood up to face Batman. "You tried to help him?" She asked in a touched voice.

Bruce gave a slow nod, "Yes..."

"Why?" Harley asked him with child like wonder. "Why would ya help him if he did so much bad for ya and your little cop buddies?"

Bruce grew very quiet and turned away from her, but Harley persisted and came to him. "You couldn't have killed Mistah J." She said, dropping the knife to turn him around seductively and planting a kiss on his lips.

She broke off for a moment, but kept her hand on the back of Bruce's head to caress his hair. "You miss him don't cha? She asked as she twirled his hair in her hand with a naughty grin.

Bruce didn't say a word, only responded by placing his hands around her waste and kissing her deeply.

Karl only smirked as he crawled over to the blade to retrieve it. Once he took the blade in his hand he took back his guns and began walking toward the entrance without a word said until reaching the exit, "Till we meet again." He said, escaping with a hassle.

Harley and Bruce, on the other hand, didn't care as Harley lead him out of the Shrine room. "You want your belt back, Brucey? I got it in my loft if you want it." She said with a dirty smile.

A smile, a genuine smile for the first time in the weeks following Joker's death appeared on her face. Her body was curved against the door lustfully as her hand traced up and down her side.

"Someone is looking a little playful." Bruce said with a smile as he drew closer.

"I'm always playful." Harley giggled as she grappled him by the shirt and pulled him toward her lustfully. "Now come on Bruce, I wanna play a lil game before the sun comes up!"

* * *

_**Harley's loft-**_

Bruce pushed the half naked Harley against a wall, her perfect legs rapped around his bare waist, as their tongues fought for dominance. Her black bra came off with out hassle revealing her beautiful breasts and little soft nipples. Bruce's hand cupped one of her breasts as the kiss became deeper and deeper and his hard cock began to throb between her silky red thong. Harley untied the veil and threw it to the ground along with her hair ties, letting her now raven black hair fall to her shoulders and in Bruce's face as slowly kissed her neck on his way to her perky melons.

She moaned sweetly as his lips graced her nips and his tongue began to ring around her nipple. His motions soon changed to light nipping which drover her wild and her thong wet with juices as she rubbed herself on top of Batman's manhood.

"Fuck me." She whispered to him as he licked her nipped and kissed his Harlequin. "Ravage me, fuck me, make me your slave."

Bruce threw her on the bed next to them with a wicked smirk as he snapped his fingers and pointed to his massive manhood.

"Oooh!" Harley giggled as she slipped off her wet thong and threw it across the room with her toes. "I've always loved a guy who takes charge."

She crawled toward him on all fours eyeing him as she drew toward his cock. Her mouth watered with excitement as she saw the fresh pre-cum dripping from the tip and on to her bed. She took the shaft in hand and began to jack him off while slowly licking the pre-cum off of the tip until taking the whole length of his massive cock in her mouth.

'Thank god for no having a gag reflex!' She thought to herself as she worshiped Bruce's throbbing tool with her mouth.

Bruce looked down with pleasure as Harley's eyes gazed up at him. "You miss me?" He asked her as her moans vibrated down his shaft and into his body.

"You better fucking believe it! Mhhmmmm!" She moaned as she sped up her motions.

"Your damn right." Bruce replied, smacking her tight ass as she sucked his cock and played with her pussy until she was dripping on the bed.

With one last deep push, Harley pulled off from his cock, pre cum and saliva dripping from her lips and Bruce's dick, She twirled herself around and spread her legs. She played with her clit and licked her lips seductively, "Fuck me like the dirty girl I am!" She begged as she rubbed her clit and finger fucked herself in front of him.

"Mmmmm..." Bruce said with a smile as Harley pulled her fingers out of her pussy and licked them clean. He took her hand and seductively caressing her wet fingers with his tongue before entering her, his hips slowly pumping against hers, at first, then pounding her like a jackhammer.

She scream with ecstasy as he thrusts into her without the slightest bit of letting up, not in the slightest. Harley grabbed Bruce by the back of his head and pushed his face toward hers until their lips locked once more. Their moans only heard when they broke their kiss for air as the Dark Knight fucked his Harlequin.

She flipped him around, breaking a lamp on the near by nightstand, until she was on top of him. Her pale breasts gleamed in the dim light of the search lights outside and candles inside, her black lips still covered in drool and pre cum, and her body covered in sweat from the ferocity of their love. She grinned her pussy against his massive cock until a dirty smirk took over her face and let out a loud pleasure filled groan. "YEEEESSSS!" She shouted as she came, but she wasn't done just yet.

Her fit body bounced up and down on Bruce's cock, rocking the bed forwards and backwards breaking more junk in the room. He propped up his legs and let her get into a deeper cowgirl. He threw his hands up to grab her breast as he thrusts his hips into her as she road him like a bull. She rocked his cock like a true cowgirl alright...

Harder and Harder... Deeper and Deeper... Unrelenting and unceasing until a loud groan bellowed from Bruce, a sign that he was about to cum. But Harley beat him to it and let out another squeal as she came for the second time.

"In my mouth bats!" She screamed as she popped off of his cock and jacked him furiously. "In my mouth!" She panted as her hand worked up and down his juice soaked shaft. Bruce threw her rear toward him as Harley jack him off and buried his face in her pussy, ravaging her with his tongue while she blew him.

Bruce's groans became louder and louder until her black lips rapped around his cock once more as he blew a hot and heavy load down her throat. But Bruce wasn't left out as the third orgasm left him gasping for air. She turned around to face her Dark Knight and gave him one last dirty kiss before passing out on his chest with a massive grin on her face...

She had dreamed of this night for years...

And so did Bruce as he cuddled with his sleeping Harlequin... "Better than what I remembered..." Bruce said with a wide smile as the sleeping Harley rapped herself around him once more.

* * *

_**Couple of hours later, just before dawn-**_

Commissioner Gordon stood outside in the cold winter's night as dawn approached on the horizon. He was becoming worried for Batman, after all he hadn't seen him in a over three days since Harley Quinn began her siege. Even when he saw him he knew something was wrong from the minute he saw him walking out of Arkham with the Joker's body cradled in his arms, even after two weeks the shock was still fresh in the Dark Knights eyes...

He with held sending in the remains of his SWAT team for too long now and the Dark Knight seemed to have disappeared he contemplated storming the mill and taking the chance of losing the remains of his team to save Batman and his crew.

"Commissioner Gordon, yes?" Karl asked Gordon.

Gordon turned with Glock at the ready, "Who are you and why are you here? Arkham City is under-"

"I understand I'm breaking the law being here, but I would like to inform you that Harley Quinn's gang is now out of Gotham, The bombs are deactivated, Their weapons piled into a dumpster only two clicks from the main gate, Your cops are safe, and Batman is coming right about- Ah there he is!" Karl responses as Batman walked toward them carrying a Sleeping Harley Quinn rapped in his cap.

"And by the looks of it, it must have been one hell of a fight." Karl chuckled, but Gordon stayed vigilant.

"What is this about Batman?" Gordon asked Batman as he carried Harley Quinn.

"Something I should have do a long time ago Commissioner." Batman replied.

"That being?" Gordon asked.

"I think the gentlemanly thing to do is to just nod and move on, yes?" Karl said with a smirk.

Gordon soon caught on and let out an awkward cough before bringing up a rather unsavory topic. "Well then... Will this change anything on what we spoke about earlier?"

Batman looked down at Harley and back to Gordon with a slightly uncomfortable gaze in his eyes. But his stoicism wouldn't let him show his discomfort. He only looked over to Gordon and with the blankest of tones replied-

"When she awakes then we may proceed. I want her to give her a chance to say goodbye."


	18. Epilogue

_**Alright readers, he's the Epilogue for DNA Part 2. Thank you all for your viewer ship and reviews.**_

_**Oh and to the reviewer asking about Karl, He's Swedish-Germanic mix so that explains why he has brown hair and green eyes. His tattoos reflect a heavy right wing view (Won't say which one) and his belief in Norse gods along with older European views. His tattoos rang from Nordic and Germanic Runes to some Celtic. Also the Jet is the Batwing, in the comics Batman hits the Joker's boat with some rockets for some reason also since his jet is just sheet metal a NATO 7.62x51 FMJ will easily go through it if it manages to catch it. Oh and my level of detail can never stop XD You must know it all, like you are that XD hahaha!  
The german weapons I did put was the MG-3. I mean come on, An improved MG-42 in the NATO 7.62? (War boner), and the Bulldog Mauser C-96's that Karl carries in all my stories. To be more specific, The M712 Schnellfeuer. The Russian weapons are just more available and I'm a big fan of the AK-74 (I own one as of three days ago, looks like a real Soviet issue from the 1980's with the wooden grips and butt.)**___

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this end to a wonderful story. Hopefully in Arkham Knight there will be some great bits for me to work with. **_

_**Stay tuned for Part 3 coming 2015...**_

_**With Love ~Dresner**_

* * *

"Are you two are ready for this?" Gordon asked Batman and Harley stood in the morgue gazing at the sheet covered body laying on a table near a cremation oven.

Batman said nothing, but Harley responded with a heavy heart: "Yeah... I just wanna... I just wanna say a couple of things to him..."

She sniffled, but didn't cry as the sheet covering the Joker's body was pulled off revealing his smiling and scared corpse laying motionless on the table. Harley held her cool as she gazed upon the body of the man who changed her into Clown princess of crime, who abused her, who manipulated her, and dominated her heart, mind, soul, and life for almost seven years. If she was anyone else she would have stayed home at Wayne Manor or simply spit on the body of her tormentor.

No, Harleen was better than that and so was Harley, even under the darker and depressing outfit and veil. The two personalities took a different, yet almost similar ways of taking the Jokers death.

For Harley, It was the end for the reign of the Clown Princess, the end of her dreams, or rather delusions, of being the wife of Gotham's most notorious super villain, and the end of the laughter. It was over now...

For Harleen, It was the end of the terror, of the loneliness, of the hate, and the pain. The pain of having someone who she tried to help, beat her like a stray dog out of pure sadistic enjoyment. It was the end of an era that she would rather forget.

It was over... It was finally over...

But both agreed on one thing, Joker was happy now. He got what he wanted, The last laugh.

Harley placed her hand on the cold palm of the Joker's and with a pain filled heart gave her final words to the Joker, Her elegy:  
"No matter what you did to me J, I forgive you..." She said with a heavy heart as she reached for the metal J hanging from her choker. "But that loony, Karl, was right. Sometimes it's better to keep someone in your heart, but not in your life. Even though I forgive you, don't expect me to forget it. See you in hell, Clown."

Harley ripped the J from her choker and placed it in the Joker's mouth as Gordon open the cremation oven. "Any last words Batman before we close this case for ever?"

Batman shook his head and turned away as the body of his former arch enemy was slowly pushed into the fires of the crematoria. Harley put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from going any further.

He turned around with a blank face yet sad eyes as he looked into the deep blue eyes of his Harlequin. She rapped her arms around his neck and thanked him for bringing her hear.

"Sure..." Batman replied with a melancholy sigh as he slowly returned the embrace. But with in a minute he simply walked away from it all. Leaving Harley alone with Commissioner Gordon.

"Is he alright, Quinn?" The Commissioner asked.

"He'll be alright. It's just hard losing someone who meant something to you..." Harley said, remembering the tale of Bruce's parents and Karl's wife. "Sometimes losing the one you love can send you on a path that even you can't control."

With those words she followed her Dark Knight out the door, clinging on to him as any girlfriend would do to her lover in need.

"Bruce?" She whispered. "Are you OK?"

"Just... Sigh I don't know." He replied in a sad tone as they walked toward the Batmobile. "I just don't know."

Harley stopped him and kissed him on the lips suddenly, "I know though. You miss him..."

"I don't miss him." Bruce replied as he stepped into the Batmobile.

"You can't play that game with me Bruce." Harley told him in a firm tone as she took her seat in the Batmobile, Throwing her hand over his as he shifted into first gear. "My profession in life won't let me play them unless I allow loneliness to get the better of me, like it did before. Joker was right about one thing, you two do understand each other. From what I remember, he had a family, a wife and a little one on the way. But fate took them away from him. Then the accident at the chemical plant happen and here he is. Even though your parents were gunned down in cold blood, both of you lost people you cared about in your life. But just like with Karl, Joker took the wrong path. While you took the right path. You two shared a common point in your lives, something that only you both could understand. In a way, you lost someone who understood your suffering."

Harley put her other hand on Bruce's cowl and removed it along with her veil. "But I know what it's like to loss someone you care about."

She kissed him sensually, running her hands through his thick black hair as she lost herself in the kiss. Bruce couldn't fight with her...

She was right...

Maybe she did understand him, If she could understand the Joker then she could understand anyone. But what mattered the most was that she accepted him and she finally knew the truth.

Maybe it was all over... He closed his eyes and began to lose himself in the love of the Harlequin. His Harlequin...


End file.
